Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev conferred on Tuesday in Sofia with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is visiting Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Government Information Service said in a press release. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, current issues on the European agenda and Albania's progress towards EU accession.

Yanev stressed Bulgaria's consistent and active support for Albania's European perspective. The Bulgarian head of government welcomed Albania's resolve to make progress in the EU reform programme and achieve positive results in key areas in this respect.

The good-neighbourly and friendly relations between Bulgaria and Albania also figured high on the agenda. Opportunities for the pursuit of cooperation open up in a number of economic areas, such as agriculture, mining, energy and high technology.

Bilateral relations can also potentially deepen in transport and connectivity through development of Pan-European Corridor VIII (Tirana/Durres/Vlore - Elbasan - Skopje - Pernik - Sofia - Plovdiv - Burgas - Varna), in education, culture and science, and social security, the Bulgarian Prime Minister pointed out.

The two sides also discussed the significant role played by the Bulgarian national minority in Albania as a natural “bridge” between the two countries.

Following the one-to-one session between Yanev and Rama, the two delegations held plenary talks.