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The second joint meeting between Bulgaria and Greece will be held in Athens in October or November, announced President Rosen Plevneliev, who is on a two-day official visit to Athens and Thessaloniki. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov. Yesterday, our Head of State met with President of Greece Carlos Papoulias and the chairman of parliament Vangelis Meimarakis, and Nickolay Mladenov met with Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos.
    "I welcome the choice of the Greek people in favour of the recovery policy for the Greek economy, for growth and stability, and in support of the euro. Bulgaria will support Greece on its way to the new growth within the common European efforts - as we have always done," Rosen Plevneliev said upon his arrival in Athens.
    "Despite the crisis, Greece remains the third largest investor in Bulgaria with a total of 3 billion euro of investments. Our trade turnover for 2001 increased by 18% and reached 2.4 billion euro compared with 2.28 billion in 2010," Greek President Carlos Papoulias said in his speech after the official talks between the two delegations.
    The main priorities for both countries are energy, infrastructure projects and regional projects of European importance. Funding for the gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece has been secured and the project is being currently developed. Electricity market liberalization should take place by 2015, which is an important issue for Bulgaria, since it exports electricity to Greece. After the talks, it has also become apparent that the both governments attach great importance to the diversification of energy sources.
    "Bulgaria is building the Struma highway and the high-speed road from Vidin and the Danube Bridge 2 to Sofia. There are new tools in Europe and we want to be among the first to use them. For example, the Connecting Europe Facility Programme, granting 51 billion euro for projects related to railway and water transport. Greece has always expressed its interest in the ports along the Danube River," Rosen Plevneliev said.
    Joint tourism projects to combine the potentials of the beautiful Greek sea and the beautiful Bulgarian ski resorts are another priority of both governments in the coming months. Romania too will be attracted as a partner in the development of regional projects of European significance. "Bulgaria is one of three European Union countries for which all existing operational programmes without any exception are open. For comparison, they are all closed for countries like Romania and the Czech Republic. So, we could give advice to Greece and Romania," President Plevneliev said.
    Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov stressed the difference between the state of Bulgaria in 1997 and its present state. "Our Greek partners are asking us how we have emerged from the crisis. The transition has taught us two things – there is no emergence without financial discipline and stability first, and second, without structural reforms," the Bulgarian top diplomat said.  
    The two politicians met also with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Greece and said that their government has been preparing a new strategy for Bulgarians abroad, which will be widely discussed and announced at a major meeting of Bulgarians in the world, which will be held in Brussels. "We chose this place symbolically, because we have the confidence that we are a part of the European Union and want it to see us and hear the Bulgarian voice," the Bulgarian President said. Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said that electronic consular services - a model that has been very successful in London - will soon be introduced in our Consulate in Athens. The Bulgarian state has long made a formal request for the opening of a Bulgarian cultural centre in Athens, but so far, there has been no permission from the Greek side.  
    Today, the visit of President Rosen Plevneliev continues with a working breakfast with representatives of Greek business and with meetings with the Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Exporters of Northern Greece.