13.04.2020
The Bulgarian business and the business of the UAE unite in the fight against COVID-19. As a sign of cooperation, two planes were sent from Bulgaria to the UAE with 32 tons of food - vegetables, meat and dairy products, which were delivered last night at the international airport in Abu Dhabi. The delivery is organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and is provided by Bulgarian companies. In return, the UAE provided Bulgaria with 15 tons of medical supplies - masks, gloves, disinfectants and clothing, as well as food.
This gesture of solidarity and support is a result of the excellent business contacts that have been established between Bulgaria and the UAE in the field of food supplies over the past two years, in line with the deepening of the strategic cooperation between the two countries and the high-level dialogue between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
In order to strengthen the significance of this gesture of friendship between Bulgaria and the UAE, the Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov was present at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. Minister Karanikolov met with the Minister of State in the Government of the UAE Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, who is a special envoy of the Crown Prince and is responsible for coordinating relations with our country. The two discussed bilateral cooperation between the UAE and Bulgaria in the context of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister Karanikolov congratulated the government and citizens of the UAE on behalf of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and underlined the support of the Bulgarian state during this global crisis. Karanikolov reminded that the two visits of Prime Minister Borissov to the UAE in 2018 and 2019 were aimed at promoting trade and trade development. According to him, the two leaders Borissov and Mohammed bin Zayed have displayed the way and now the business shows that it has understood their motives and is doing the most important thing - helping the citizens of Bulgaria and the UAE.
During the meeting between Karanikolov and Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, ways to strengthen the international response to COVID-19 were discussed. Both of them reaffirmed the importance of joint action to curb the spread of the virus. Bulgaria is committed to strengthen the bilateral relations and to coordinate efforts to control COVID-19 with the UAE.
"The UAE is grateful to Bulgaria for the friendship, for the joint efforts to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic around the world. Such partnerships are essential to increase the effectiveness of a coordinated response that will sustain and possibly hinder the spread of COVID-19,” said Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh. According to him, today's gesture is a message to the world - "that together we can meet the needs of our peoples and together we can make our nations strong now and after this problem has been solved."
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov visited the UAE in 2018 and 2019. These were the first such high-level visits in the history of the relations between the two countries. During his meetings with Mohamed Bin Zayed, he put an emphasis on the serious unutilized potential for the development of trade and economic ties, especially in terms of food security, between Bulgaria and the UAE.
