Bulgaria’s President Meets Cyprus Parliament Chair

Bulgaria highly appreciates the efforts of Cyprus to create proper conditions for the Bulgarian nationals living there to work freely and be integrated in the Cypriot society, Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev said on 28^th of November as reported by BTA. On the second day of his visit to the Republic of Cyprus, he met with Parliament Speaker Demetris Syllouris.

The President expressed his gratitude to the Cypriot Parliament for being the first to ratify the agreement on Bulgaria's accession to the EU and to adopt legislation opening the country's labour market for Bulgarian workers, the press-secretariat of Bulgaria’s Head of State said.

During the meetin, Radev and Syllouris discussed the prospects for the further development of relations between Bulgaria and Cyprus, the promotion of the dialogue between the legislative bodies of the two countries, as well as the means of increasing the educational and cultural exchange. The preparations and priorities for the forthcoming Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU were also among the highlights of the meeting.

"Bulgaria's and Cyprus's energy cooperation has enormous potential, and our country is ready to take part in various projects, together with Cyprus, to achieve diversification of gas transit routes to Southeast Europe," Radev said. He highlighted the importance of the project for a gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece, which has the potential to provide energy connectivity with other countries in the Mediterranean region.

Syllouris thanked for the opportunity provided by Bulgaria for Cypriot students to study and receive scholarships in Bulgarina universities. He said that the people of Cyprus highly appreciated the aid to Cypriot refugees Bulgaria provided during the conflict in 1974. The Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament familiarized Radev with her country's efforts to be a factor of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.