The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel invited the ambassadors to Bulgaria to a farewell meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She outlined in detail the concrete results achieved in the last ten months in the field of foreign policy and thanked the heads of diplomatic missions for the fruitful joint work, constructive dialogue and support.
“Unity, mutual respect, pragmatic cooperation and proactive action have been guiding principles in my work,” said Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel. She emphasized that she worked actively to establish Bulgaria as a recognizable, proactive and reliable partner in the EU and NATO. A concrete example of this is keeping the topic of support for Ukraine high on the agenda of both organizations, demonstrated including by Maria Gabriel’s meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“I worked for the positioning of Bulgaria as a regional leader emphasizing the strategic importance of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region,” Maria Gabriel continued. She emphasized the importance of improving connectivity in the region – infrastructural, energy, economic, digital, as well as cooperation in the field of innovation. “Good connectivity creates more opportunities,” said Gabrielle categorically.
The Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted the results regarding Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen with the removal of air and sea border controls, as well as progress in preparations for Bulgaria’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Maria Gabriel also paid attention to strategic partnerships with countries in and outside Europe. She recalled that she had deepened partnerships with the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Examples are the Second Session of the Strategic Dialogue between Bulgaria and the USA and the signed important Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria and the USA to counter the foreign manipulation of information. A joint declaration of strategic partnership has been adopted with the United Kingdom, covering key areas such as foreign policy, security and defense policy, justice and home affairs, science, innovation, education. “We gave a new impetus to the strategic partnership agreement between Bulgaria and France from 2008, and the Roadmap to it will be updated,” Gabriel added.
Minister Gabriel paid attention to laying the foundations for building new partnerships and reviving traditional ones, which will play a positive role in political, economic and trade relations.
Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel thanked for the ongoing regular and constructive dialogue with various groups of ambassadors in Bulgaria: the group of ambassadors from the EU, the group of ambassadors from non-EU countries, the ambassadors of the Arab countries and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the group of ambassadors from Asia, the group of female ambassadors, as well as that of Bulgarian-speaking ambassadors.
Gabriel also focused on the work done to establish Bulgaria as a regional innovation center, as well as on the creation of a strategic image of the country, which would present the history, traditions, culture and successes of the country through the concept of “Brand Bulgaria”.
The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of Bulgaria’s first ever Foreign Policy Strategy, the draft of which was presented earlier that day at a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thanking especially all those involved in its development.
Last but not least, Maria Gabriel specially thanked all the employees of the diplomatic service for their high professionalism and dedication to the cause of worthily protecting the Bulgarian national interest.
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