President Rosen Plevneliev held a telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras

President Rosen Plevneliev today held a telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the head of state told Bulgarian media in Thessaloniki. Prime Minister Samaras expressed gratitude to the Bulgarian President for the declaration of solidarity and support by Bulgaria to Greece at a time of tough reforms needed there. “I received an assurance from the Prime Minister that Greece will take decisive action with a clear program,” President Plevneliev told journalists, adding that Bulgaria has received recognition as a country symbolising the successful implementation of reforms. Because the Prime Minister was ill, the meeting scheduled for the previous day during the President’s official visit to Athens did not take place.

“For us, the success of Greece is important and the reforms there affect to an extent investment and the economic development of the whole region,” President Plevneliev said. According to the President, the efforts made by Bulgaria and Greece set the direction of the region, and this is reforms for competitiveness and economic growth.

Greek business in Bulgaria is not in crisis, President Plevneliev said in response to a journalist's question. He said that Greek companies in Bulgaria are a major factor working for the economic development of the country. “We cannot underestimate the potential of Greek investments and they can contribute to the economic development of Bulgaria and the region,” President Plevneliev said.

Earlier, at a formal meeting of the Municipal Council of Thessaloniki, the Bulgarian President was awarded the title “Honorary citizen of Thessaloniki” by the mayor Yiannis Butaris. “Thessaloniki is the birthplace of two of the most respected figures in the history of Bulgaria - Saints Cyril and Methodius. I am grateful for giving me the opportunity to become their honorary fellow,” President Plevneliev said at the ceremony.

The two-day official visit to the head of state in Greece ends with a visit to Macedonia University in Thessaloniki, where he will be honored with the title Doctor Honoris Causa of the university.