2019-04-16
Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia:
"It is a real honor for me to be here today in Sofia, Bulgaria, hosted by a very good friend of Georgia and a very good friend of mine. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your distinguished hospitality.
Georgia and Bulgaria share long history of traditionally close and friendly relations. Historical ties between our two countries date back for the centuries. The Bachkovo Monastery, founded by Georgian brothers Bakuriani in 11th century, is one of the most iconic orthodox monasteries in Eastern Europe and clear symbol of cultural and historical unity of Georgia and Bulgaria.
We are happy to see, that over the years, our bilateral relations have been steadily growing and leading to what is today a strong bond of friendship and vibrant cooperation in many areas of common interest.
I am delighted, that during all this time, we enjoyed active dynamics of high-level visits and meetings on the sidelines of international events. Today, we agreed to consolidate our efforts, in order to maintain and strengthen this positive trend in the future.
We have reaffirmed our commitment to provide the most favorable conditions for the ongoing advancement of Georgian-Bulgarian ties in different fields.
Our trade and economic ties are developing successfully. We are glad to note, that over the recent years Bulgaria has become one of the top 10 trading partners of Georgia. But, we see the significant potential for extension of our trade and economic cooperation in the future.
We highly appreciate the effectiveness of the work of the Georgian-Bulgarian intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
We welcome the recent meeting of the commission, during which both sides agreed on a whole array of important economic issues and identified future steps of even closer partnership.
Georgia and Bulgaria are connected geographically - the Black Sea builds a natural bridge between us, offering unique opportunities and bearing huge potential that we are committed to exploit, especially in the fields of transport. On today's meeting, we devoted particular attention to the prospects of further development of ferry connections between seaports of Georgia and Bulgaria.
At the same time we agreed to start another unique project for both nations, which will be really unique not only for us, but for the regions, connecting east to west. I am very much optimistic that in a very near future we will be able to announce the creation of a new digital corridor connecting Bulgaria with Georgia and therefore connecting east with west.
Today, we noted wide opportunities of cultural and humanitarian cooperation, which is in the interests of consistent development of our partnership.
Dear Prime Minister, using this opportunity I would like to extend our gratitude for Bulgaria's strong support towards Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and input in the process of our European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
On the meeting, we have discussed extensively the issues of the EU-Georgia relationship and the Eastern Partnership.
On the 10th anniversary of the Partnership, we all agree that remarkable progress has been achieved across many fields; but we also highlighted the need to join efforts and inject new dynamism in the partnership by designing new benchmarks as a promise towards greater integration with the EU.
Through these years, Georgia has built a strong basis of our relationship with the European family, naturally, with the solid support of our European partners and friends. Effective implementation of the Association Agreement and the DCFTA, gradual convergence with the European standards and practices open up huge of opportunities for our relations to become even stronger.
Our goal is to gradually achieve the best possible legislative and institutional convergence with the EU, which will open further prospects of deeper integration with the EU. This is precisely the aim of the EU Integration Roadmap of Georgia, which we discussed during the meeting. We look forward to working with our Bulgarian colleagues to further advance the EU-Georgia relations
Today we have also discussed Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration process and mentioned that NATO-Georgia relations have never been as dynamic as today.
We have noted the significance of Georgia's participation in NATO's strategic discussions on Black Sea Security and our deepening cooperation in this respect.
At the meeting, I have also raised a topic that we have as the most painful challenge in Georgia - fact that unfortunately Russian Federation continues to occupy 20% of our territory which has deteriorated the situation in terms of security, human rights and humanitarian situation in both historical parts of the country.
Georgia continues policy of the peaceful conflict resolution and we are thankful to the international society, which has demonstrated immense support to Georgia's efforts in this direction. Only with the firm stance and consistent approach of the international society we can achieve progress and establish lasting peace on the ground.
Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to use this opportunity and congratulate you and your nation with 140th Anniversary from the adoption of the first Bulgarian Constitution on April 16, 1879.
Dear Prime Minister, once again, I would like to thank you for your warm hospitality and fruitful discussions and I believe that my Official Visit will be another very important milestone in creating huge economic opportunities for our nations to advance the national interests of both countries and make our relations stronger, deeper and more sustainable. Thank you!"
Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria:
"At this moment I have a very equal match because the Prime Minister of Georgia is a former rugby player. So, we had an opportunity to also speak about the sports a little bit.
Georgia is an important partner for us on the other side of the Black Sea. Georgia is a gateway for 8 other countries in the region and a gateway for the Black Sea towards Europe. In relation to the projects mentioned, in particular the one in terms of ferry transport between our two countries we aim in the very short term to increase the capacity of these connections, to eliminate all the administrative obstacles and to ensure that there be more ferries between our two countries, so that we ensure the connectivity between Georgia and the region, region of Balkans and Europe. This is in parallel also related to the infrastructure projects that Bulgaria is engaged in increasing the capacity of Varna and Burgas ports, highway and railway network of Bulgaria and the Balkans. These types of projects are important, because every time I visit a country I would like to sign something practical in terms of achievable projects. There has been a constant talk about ferry transportation, but we now want to reach a pragmatic result.
Also, in terms of Eastern Partnership, there should be a merits-based assessment. We shall support all infrastructural projects related to TEN-T, in terms of digital connectivity, by establishing a digital connection - a cable between Bulgaria and Georgia. We aim within the next few months to start the implementation of this project and namely a cable will be laid in the waters of the Black Sea. It will give the opportunity to the whole Caucasus region to use high level internet and digital infrastructure that exists in Europe. Georgia can rely on our support and the execution of the project also aligns with our legislation and policies. We support Georgia in any way it subsequently wants to take advantage of this asset
Also, I see a great opportunity in the energy potential of Georgia. In the abundance of the hydro energy and capacity, I consider it as the third innovative project similar to the one that is currently being implemented by Norway and Germany. We discussed the funding required for the implementation of such projects between Georgia and Bulgaria. I believe that the current 10-12% increase in trade can also be increased further with these connections.
And last, but not least, Bulgaria and Georgia are Christian Orthodox countries. I hope, dear colleague, that in the next few months we will once again meet to sign the launch of the projects that we discussed. Thank you!"