Relations between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom and issues of the European and international agenda were discussed by the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov and the newly appointed ambassador of Great Britain to our country Nathaniel Copsey, the Foreign Ministry announced.
The two sides took note of the excellent state of relations between Sofia and London, discussing possibilities for upgrading and deepening them both on a bilateral basis and in line with multilateral formats, the announcement makes clear. The importance of the joint declaration of strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom from October 2023 and the initiative of the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “restart” the relations of the United Kingdom with the European Union (EU) were highlighted. The prospects for the development of the bilateral political dialogue at the highest and highest level were also discussed.
Issues from the European and international agenda were also discussed, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, security in the Black Sea, the Western Balkans.
The official minister emphasized the appreciation of the Bulgarian side for the consistent British support for Bulgaria’s accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and referred to the good prerequisites for deepening the cooperation between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom in all spheres of mutual interest, based on the shared values, similarities in foreign policy priorities and established good bilateral contacts.
The fruitful cooperation in countering disinformation and hybrid threats was noted, as well as the good cooperation in the fight against illegal migration.
On October 18, Ivan Kondov also met with the heads of embassies of the member states of the European Union in our country. The meeting was organized on the initiative of Miklos Boros, ambassador of Hungary, which currently presides over the Council of the EU. The topics of the EU agenda were at the center of the meeting. Minister Kondov expressed his expectation for a positive decision by the Council of the EU by the end of this year regarding the abolition of control at our Schengen land borders.