Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived on a working visit here on Thursday. He conferred with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the Euxinograd Residence later in the day.
On Friday, Netanyahu will join a quadrilateral high-level meeting in Varna between prime ministers Borissov of Bulgaria, Alexis Tsipras of Greece, Viorica Dancila of Romania and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
“It is wonderful that we can be here in Bulgaria,” the Israeli head of government said, emerging from the session with his host. He described the quadrilateral meeting as very important. “It gives a vision of the region which we share together. The meeting can help everybody, you and us, in every possible area: healthcare, cyber security and information technology, and in other areas that can generate jobs and prosperity,” Netanyahu said. “This is our third meeting with Boyko Borissov in four months, which demonstrates the intensity of our friendship,” the Israeli PM pointed out.
He said that his country highly values the friendship between the Israeli and the Bulgarian peoples. “This friendship dates centuries back, and quite recently we were able to unveil a new monument honouring the cause of the Bulgarians and the saving of their Jews,” Netanyahu said. He recalled that Bulgarians had lain down on the rail tracks to prevent the deportation of Jews to the Nazi death camps.
The guest singled out the fine cooperation between the two countries in combating antisemitism. “We are part of a civilization that treasures freedom, peace and the promise of a good future. Nowadays these values come under attack from extremists who strive to subvert our values,” he pointed out.
The Israeli leader said that talks are in progress on joint projects in defence cooperation and even on the development of special-purpose military equipment.
He hopes that the Israeli tourists who will come to Bulgaria after his visit will far outnumber the 210,000 who arrived last year and even more will follow “not only because of our shared friendship, but also because of the potential you have”.
Netanyahu stressed the existence of a significant potential for cooperation in the energy sector, which will be considered shortly. Referring to the “very ambitious” Eastern Mediterranean (EastMed) Pipeline Project, the guest said he believes that “a little of the [natural] gas on which we are negotiating with Greece can reach Bulgaria.” He specified that this matter will be on the agenda in Varna.
The Israeli Prime Minister said that thanks to Borissov’s leadership Bulgaria has become a leading EU Member State not just in the Balkans, but EU-wide and on the world stage. Israel regards Borissov as an exceedingly important partner, and Bulgaria is an exceedingly important partner, “and I would like that we continue in this vein because this is important for the welfare of our two peoples, for the region and for the world,” the guest said, thanking “my friend Boyko”.
