14.04.2025
Relations between Bulgaria and Türkiye of friendship and partnership, relations that we have been developing viably for decades, guarantee the protection of both, our national borders and the external EU borders in a manner that sets an example in the European context. This was stated by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov when he called on Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They met and talked in Antalya, which hosts the fourth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
The Prime Minister accentuated the excellent interaction between Bulgaria and Türkiye as a key factor in the fight against illegal migration and the protection of the common border, which is one of the external borders of the European Union. Mr. Jeliazkov expressed his confidence that cooperation in this important matter will continue in the future.
Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov specially emphasized the upgrade of the Kapitan Andreevo border-crossing checkpoint, which is Number One in the world in terms of the huge heavy-duty traffic that is handled there daily. The Prime Minister cited as a priority the expansion of the capacity and the throughput of the checkpoint as this would increase the economic benefits for both countries. In addition, Mr. Jeliazkov noted the importance of the development of other important border-crossing checkpoints such as Lessovo and Malko Turnovo.
Accordingly, the security in the Black Sea region was a focus of the meeting of Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Bulgaria’s Prime Minister recognized the good cooperation in the establishment of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group.
Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov pointed out that for Bulgaria Türkiye is a neighbour country but also a NATO ally and a major partner in areas such as trade and investment, transport, energy, tourism, the fight against terrorism and organized crime. He was firm that the promotion of economic cooperation and of trade relations is important for both countries.
Further, the Prime Minister put forth a proposal for cooperation between Bulgaria and Türkiye in initiatives related to the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Other promising areas of successful cooperation as identified by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov were innovation, digital infrastructure, green technologies and low-carbon energy technologies.
