On 30 August 2007 National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski took part in the first of a series of peace conferences held by Rotary International.

The Chairman of Parliament addressed the participants in the Sofia conference, which focused on How to Attain Peace on the Balkans.

Bulgaria places its efforts on support for an atmosphere of dialogue, understanding and cooperation on the Balkans, rather than trying to exert an influence, Georgi Pirinski underlined in his speech.

The Chairman of the National Assembly pointed out that we are faced with some of the most complex challenges in the region: not only to resolve the problem of Kosovo but to establish sound democratic institutions.

Over the centuries, the Balkans have earned the notorious name of a powder-keg, a region which has more history than it can take, Georgi Pirinski said. He stressed that people who weather life’s hardships and natural disasters together learn to live with their history.

One example of cooperation in the region, he went on to say, is the choice of the Bulgarian Parliament as the host of the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation and this is part of transferring the activities of the Stability Pact onto the structures of the South East European Cooperation Process. He said that Bulgaria’s Parliament will seek wider support for the operations of the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation.

Georgi Pirinski offered once again deep sympathy to our Greek neighbours at what is a particularly hard time for them, after the devastating wildfires that scourged their country.

The Sofia forum is attended by representatives of all Balkan countries and some EU countries, as well as the US, Canada, Russia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rotary International’s President Wilfred Wilkinson and other leaders of the organisation.

Conference delegates discussed possibilities for peaceful conflict resolution across the world. The next forums of Rotary International will dwell on peace in the Middle East and in South America and will take place in Istanbul and in Mexico.