Bulgaria and the United States have established relations of strategic partnership. The two countries are ready to invigorate their bilateral cooperation by laying emphasis on the economic ties, energy security, the rule of law and security affairs. This was the opinion shared by President Rosen Plevneliev and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who held talks at 2 Dondukov street today.

 

The Bulgarian institutions are well aware that improving the capacity of the administration and reforming the judiciary are the mechanisms which can allow them to restore the trust of the civil society and attract more investments, President Plevneliev emphasized. The Bulgarian Head of State was adamant that 2015 would be “the year of reforms” in Bulgaria and the institutions will start addressing the problems in the energy sector, the pension system and the healthcare sector.

 

President Plevneliev emphasized that not only Bulgaria but also the region of Southeast Europe are working to ensure more connectivity and integration in the energy sector so as to overcome the dependencies in the supply of energy resources. “The construction of interconnectors between the gas transmission networks of Bulgaria and its neighbors and the projects of the South Gas Corridor are efficient tools to increase not only the regional energy stability, but also the supplies of natural gas to Europe,” the Bulgarian Head of State said.

 

Rosen Plevneliev thanked John Kerry for the US government’s consistent support for the modernization of the Bulgarian army and the improvement of its interoperability with the NATO partner armies. “Bulgaria will work to fulfill the commitments assumed at the NATO summit in Wales to spend more money on its defense capabilities,” the President emphasized. In the Bulgarian Head of State’s view, by developing its high-technology sector, Bulgaria has the opportunity to specialize in the cyber-security sector within NATO. The President also updated the US Secretary of State with the Programme “Bulgaria in NATO and in European Defense 2020” and with the projects on reducing Bulgaria’s dependence on a single arms supplier. The two analyzed the risks and threats arising from the geopolitical instability in the region and outlined measures to strengthen their cooperation in handling terror threats.

 

The US Secretary of State reiterated President Barack Obama’s stance that the US is firmly standing behind its NATO allies in the light of the crisis in Eastern Ukraine. John Kerry praised Bulgaria's contribution to peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and also to building up the defense potential of NATO in the Black Sea region.

 

Reaching an efficient agreement within the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will allow both the EU and the US to encourage their economic growth and to establish new standards of economic cooperation in the world, President Rosen Plevneliev further said at the meeting.