National Assembly President Tsetska Tsacheva and the President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska discussed the opportunities for deepening the parliamentary and economic cooperation. The Head of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Kiska, is on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of President Rosen Plevneliev.

“Bulgaria and Slovakia are partners in both the European Union and NATO, but before all they are connected by their cultural and historic proximity and the excellent friendly relations between the two peoples”, stressed Tsetska Tsacheva at the meeting, held in the National Assembly. She underscored the task of the politicians of the two countries is to sustain these traditionally good relations and create prerequisites for future development.

The head of the National Assembly expressed satisfaction of the cooperation between the parliaments of Bulgaria and Slovakia and noted it is carried through the friendship groups, the parliamentary commissions and the participation of MPs from the two countries in international forums. Tsetska Tsacheva went on to say the Bulgarians have warm and sincere feelings towards the Slovaks. The efficiency of the contacts at high political level could be assessed by whether they lead to closer contacts between the citizens and the business in the two countries.

The President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska has thanked for his warm reception in Bulgaria and stressed that at the talks held with the President of Bulgaria both leaders concluded that their countries face similar challenges. “More than 100 000 Slovaks visit Bulgaria every year, because they feel comfortable in your country”, he said.

During the inauguration ceremony of “Sofia High Tech Park”, which the President of Slovakia attended as well, Tsetska Tsacheva noted the two countries have to work to putting in practice policies directed towards the future such as information technologies, innovations and modern production.

The two leaders agreed that the economies of both Bulgaria and Slovakia should get oriented towards innovations. They agreed both countries face the same problem of  young, well educated people, leaving in order to work abroad.

The Chair of the National Assembly expressed the gratitude of Bulgaria about the consistent support of Slovakia for the country’s accession to the Schengen area and expressed the hope of Bulgaria to join the space during the Dutch Chairmanship of the European Union in 2016, adding Bulgaria is acting already as a Schengen country. Tsetska Tsacheva said she is confident that if Bulgaria and Romania become part of the Schengen space, the external borders of the European Union would be even better protected.

“There is no EU member state capable of tackling alone the growing migratory pressure without the solidarity of the rest and without a common European policy, noticed Tsetska Tsacheva. The President of Slovakia said his country is not a target destination of the migrants, not even a transit country, but nevertheless it must show solidarity with those countries facing the problems.