Erdogan: Our common goal with Bulgaria is to increase our trade volume to 10 billion dollars

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at the Vahdettin mansion. After the meeting, President Erdoğan made a joint press statement with his counterpart. President Erdoğan stressed that the deepening of relations was reviewed during the meeting.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev stressed the need to continue joint work, saying: “Our countries have a common responsibility. On the safety of deliveries and the rapid replenishment of resources. This is only possible with the deepening of cooperation in the field of energy”.

“We believe that our solidarity must always be stronger than ever”

Making a statement at the meeting, Erdoğan said: “We had our meeting between the delegations. My esteemed colleague and I met during the summit of the European political community in Prague in October. At our meetings today, we reviewed our developing and deepening relations as two neighboring countries. That is why, as two NATO allies, we believe that our solidarity must be stronger than ever. On this occasion, we confirm that we have a common will to promote our bilateral, regional and global relations”.

“OUR COMMON GOAL IS TO INCREASE OUR COMMERCIAL VOLUME TO 10 BILLION DOLLARS IN A SHORT TIME”

President Erdoğan said: “We emphasize the need for effective cooperation in managing irregular migration. During our meetings, we also discuss in detail our economic and commercial relations. Last year, our trade volume reached 6 billion dollars. Our common goal is to increase this to $10 billion shortly after today’s talks. Our cooperation will further develop with the completion of the modernization of the border gates on the Bulgarian side and, especially, the strengthening of the food inspection infrastructure. I want to once again thank the president for the support he has given to our businessmen, whose investments in Bulgaria exceed 2.5 billion euros.

“WE GAVE THE NECESSARY INSTRUCTIONS TO OUR MINISTRY OF ENERGY”

President Erdoğan said: “Opportunities for cooperation on energy security have been explored on our agenda. We discussed it and gave the necessary instructions to our Minister of Energy on the subject. How can we help in this regard? How can we meet the demand from Bulgaria? Our ministry will also take the necessary measures in this regard. Also, on the point of border security, our Minister of the Interior will continue to work with his counterpart, how we can deal with border security together, how we can solve it, and they will work together on this. The Bulgarian Turks form a strong bridge of hearts between the two countries.

“I BELIEVE THAT OUR VISITS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEEPENING OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LAW”

President Erdoğan said: “As you all know, we take special care to protect our common cultural heritage together. With this understanding, we restored the Iron Church in Balat, which we undertook the restoration, in 2018 and reopened it. It is our sincere wish that the Makbul İbrahim Pasha Mosque will be restored and open for worship in a short time. I sincerely believe that our mutual visits will contribute to the deepening of our neighborhood law”.

RADEV: WE NEED TO CONTINUE OUR WORK

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev thanked President Erdogan for his hospitality. Radev said:

* As neighboring countries, Bulgaria and Turkey are in a very problematic area. The war is very close. Problem areas are also on our border. Cooperation between Turkey and Bulgaria is very important for the security of the region. It is very important for the Eastern European Region. At the same time, we have important business partners. As two partners, we cooperate in the field of economy, trade, energy, tourism, protection of common borders and the fight against terrorism according to mutual benefits. The most important indicator of cooperation is that Kapıkule Border Gate ranks second in the world in terms of trade volume.

* Therefore, we have many things to do, we need to continue our work. Turkey is a country that invests in Bulgaria As Mr. Erdogan said, our trade volume exceeded 6 billion USD last year. Russia’s war against Ukraine is not just testing us. It is also testing our economic and social systems. We need to reconsider some issues, what is cooperation, friendship, neighborliness? Global changes are happening very quickly. We have to find common approaches. Our countries have a common responsibility. On the safety of deliveries and the rapid replenishment of resources. This is only possible with the deepening of cooperation in the field of energy”.

“OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE THAT THE ENERGY SYSTEMS OF BOTH COUNTRIES WILL PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT”

Radev said: “In line with mutual benefits, our expectations are that the energy systems of both countries will develop further. Here I would also like to thank Mr. Erdogan, because at a very difficult time for our country, they helped us with liquefied gas. Our meeting today was also very useful. The war in Ukraine is now affecting global supply chains. In our case, there is a land route from Africa to Europe, passing through Turkey. We also see the responsibility of this. We also noticed an increase in traffic,” he said.

“WE MUST HAVE A QUIET AND PROTECTED BORDER”

Radev said: “Traffic at our border gates has doubled. We need to be proactive. We need to take the necessary measures to increase the capacity of our border gates by taking joint decisions and measures. The relevant ministers held their meetings. For the steps we have taken to be successful, we must have a calm and guarded border. With this in mind, we appreciate Turkey’s prevention of increasing illegal immigration. Our joint efforts will continue. We take into account the situation in Turkey regarding illegal immigration. We are trying to comply with the terms of our bilateral agreements. We condemn all kinds of terrorist activities with Mr. Erdogan. Because these mean for people’s health and that is why we will continue our joint work on this issue, ”he said.

Congratulating President Erdoğan, Radev said: “We appreciate your efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine through diplomatic means. It has had tremendous success with the Ukraine and Russia and even with the United Nations. When opening the Grain Corridor. I would like to thank the President of Turkey once again. I wish peace and quiet,” he said.