site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Is a Country with Significant Potential, PM Radev Says in Berlin

During his joint briefing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that Bulgaria is a country with significant potential.

"I briefed Chancellor Merz on Bulgaria's socio-economic development in recent years and on the results of the snap parliamentary elections held a month ago," Radev said.

The PM thanked Chancellor Merz for the invitation and the warm welcome.

The Bulgarian prime minister arrived earlier in the day in Berlin, where he was greeted with military honours at the Federal Chancellery. Radev is leading a delegation that includes Deputy PM and Minister of Economy, Investment, and Industry Alexander Poulev and Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev highlighted Bulgaria’s strategic geographic position as a link between Central Europe and the Balkans during talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Monday. He stressed the growing importance of the Black Sea region and connections to the Middle East and Asia.

Radev said Bulgaria has strengthened European transport, energy and digital corridors over the years and, with German investment, has developed a modern industrial base in sectors including automotive production, robotics and defence.

He also pointed to Bulgaria’s expanding startup and IT sector, particularly in artificial intelligence, and said the country had established itself as a year-round tourism destination attracting increasing numbers of German visitors.

“The most important thing for me is that Bulgaria has emerged not as a periphery, but as an important industrial and logistics partner of Germany in Southeast Europe,” Radev said. He added that this was largely due to the talent, dedication and ambition of Bulgarians, and pointed to singer Dara’s success at the Eurovision Song Contest as an example of the country’s growing international visibility.

He acknowledged that years of political instability and rule-of-law concerns had limited Bulgaria’s potential, but said the situation is changing with the formation of what he described as a technocratic government with a clear reform agenda focused on economic development, high-tech industries, artificial intelligence, energy security and productivity.

Radev said he and Merz had discussed attracting and protecting foreign investment, adding that Bulgaria and Germany could deepen cooperation beyond trade and investment and contribute jointly to Europe’s strategic autonomy and industrial security.

He also stressed the need for Europe to play a stronger diplomatic role amid global economic uncertainty and ongoing conflicts, welcoming what he described as Europe’s readiness to work toward negotiations involving the United States, Europe, Ukraine and Russia.

According to Radev, Europe also needs a clear strategy for strengthening its own defence capabilities and industrial base.

The Bulgarian prime minister highlighted cooperation with Germany in security, combating illegal migration, cross-border crime and terrorism, as well as strong ties in culture, education, science and tourism.

He noted that more than 400,000 Bulgarian citizens live, work or study in Germany, while the number of German citizens living in Bulgaria is also growing.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Radev said Bulgaria sees potential for further defence cooperation with Germany beyond existing projects with German defence company Rheinmetall, including drone production and joint European defence initiatives.

He also said Bulgaria is ready to produce drones in the same class as the stalled Eurodrone project and announced plans for an artificial intelligence “gigafactory” in Bulgaria involving a German company.