The Presidents of Turkey and Bulgaria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Rumen Radev, met at the Vahdettin residence as part of the TRT World Forum in Istanbul. After the meeting, President Erdoğan issued a joint statement to the media with his counterpart. President Erdoğan stressed that the in-depth reports were reviewed during the meeting, a BGNES reporter said.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev underlined that joint work must continue and said: “Our countries have a common responsibility. It is about security of supply and rapid replacement of resources. This is only possible by deepening cooperation in the field of power. “
“We believe that our solidarity must always be strong”
In a statement, Erdogan said, “I met my esteemed colleague at the European Political Community summit held in Prague in October. During our meetings today, we reviewed the development and deepening of relations as two neighboring countries.
Both the Balkans and the global system face major challenges. That’s why we believe our solidarity as two NATO allies must be stronger than ever. On this occasion, we confirmed that we have a common will to deepen our bilateral, regional and global relations”.
“Our common goal is to increase trading volume to $10 billion in a short period of time”
“We stressed the need for effective cooperation in dealing with illegal immigration. During our meetings, we also discussed our economic and trade relations in detail. Last year, our trade volume reached $6 billion Our common goal is to bring it to $10 billion shortly after today’s meetings,” Erdogan said.
“Our cooperation will continue to develop with the completion of the modernization of the border crossings on the Bulgarian side and especially with the strengthening of the food control infrastructure. I would like to thank the President once again for the support he provides to our entrepreneurs in Bulgaria, the whose investments exceed 2.5 billion euros”.
Turkish guidelines for the Ministry of Energy
President Erdoğan said, “On our agenda, the possibilities for cooperation on the issue of energy security have been explored. We have discussed it and given the necessary instructions to our Energy Minister on the matter. How can we help in this regard, how can we respond to Bulgaria’s request. Our ministry will take the necessary measures in this regard.”
On the security issue, the Turkish Interior Minister said, “We continue to work with our Bulgarian colleague to jointly address border security. The Bulgarian Turks form a strong bridge between the two countries.”
“I believe our visits will contribute to good neighborliness”
“As you all know, we pay special attention to the joint preservation of our common cultural heritage. With this understanding, we restored and reopened the Balat Iron Church in 2018, and we undertook its restoration. We sincerely hope that the Maqbool Ibrahim Pasha Mosque will be restored and open to pilgrimage in a short time. I sincerely believe that our mutual visits will contribute to the deepening of good neighborliness”, said the Turkish president.
Rumen Radev: “We must continue our common work”
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev thanked President Erdogan for his hospitality.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is not only a test for us. It also tests our economic and social systems. We need to rethink some questions, what is cooperation, friendship, good neighborliness! Global changes are happening very fast. We need to find common approaches. Our countries have a shared responsibility for security of supply and rapid substitution of resources. This is only possible by deepening cooperation in the field of energy,” said the Bulgarian president.
Developments in the energy systems of both countries
Rumen Radev said, “In accordance with mutual interests, our expectations are that both countries’ energy systems continue to develop. And here I would like to thank Mr. Erdogan, because they helped us with liquefied gas in a very difficult time for our country. Our meeting today was also very helpful. The war in Ukraine is currently affecting global supply chains. For us, there is an overland route from Africa to Europe and through Turkey. We also see a responsibility in this. We also realize that traffic is increasing.”
“A calm and safe border”
“Traffic at our border crossing points has doubled,” President Radev said, “we must be proactive. We must take the necessary steps to increase the capacity of our border crossing points by taking joint decisions and measures. The relevant ministers held their meetings.
For the steps we have taken to be successful, we need to have a peaceful and secure border. We welcome Turkey’s prevention of increased illegal immigration. It is aimed at people’s health and therefore we will continue our joint work on this issue,” she said.
Congratulating President Erdogan, Radev said, “We appreciate your efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine by diplomatic means. You have achieved great success in relations with Ukraine and Russia, including in the UN framework. With l opening of the Grain Corridor with the help again of the President of Turkey. I want to thank you. I wish you peace and quiet”, concluded the Bulgarian president.
