site.btaBulgarian Caretaker Ministers, Turkish Ambassador Discuss Joint Action to Ease Cross-Border Traffic

Bulgarian caretaker ministers and Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Mehmet Sait Uyanik discussed joint action to ease traffic at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Bulgaria said on Saturday.

More than 4 million vehicles and over 11 million passengers pass annually through the Kapikule–Kapitan Andreevo border crossing - the busiest land border crossing in the world. This intensive traffic requires urgent modernization of the existing infrastructure and the construction of new border facilities. This was the main focus of the meeting organized by caretaker Transport Minister Korman Ismailov with the Turkish Ambassador, the statement said.

Caretaker Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov, Deputy Energy Minister Teodora Georgieva, and representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also took part in the talks.

“I invited other colleagues in order to accelerate the dialogue, build on what has already been started and discuss new initiatives. Our goal is to resolve issues operationally and achieve concrete results,” Ismailov said.

Uyanik noted that waiting times at the border crossing have increased noticeably over the past month.

During the meeting, the importance of the upcoming construction of a new railway border crossing near Lesovo was highlighted. The project is key to meeting the growing needs of businesses and easing road traffic in the region.

The sides also discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the construction of strategic infrastructure projects. Uyanik pointed out that Turkish companies have expressed interest in building the Black Sea Motorway and stated readiness for the project to be completed within three years.

Issues related to water resource management and their sustainable use were also discussed during the talks.