site.btaUPDATED Poland Extremely Important Economic, Trade, and Investment Partner for Bulgaria, Says President Radev

Poland is an extremely important economic, trade, and investment partner for Bulgaria, and the growing volume of trade year after year is a testament to this, said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev after a one-on-one meeting with his visiting Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.

Earlier in the day, Rumen Radev and his wife, Desislava Radeva, officially welcomed Andrzej Duda and his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, at a ceremony held in Alexander Nevsky Square in Sofia.

“With President Duda, we are connected not only through active professional cooperation and partnership, but I can confidently say through a sincere friendship, which reflects the friendship between our two nations, built on centuries-old spiritual, cultural, and historical ties,” Radev stated.

He added, “Our relations are marked by an active political dialogue at the highest level. Today we had the opportunity once again to discuss all matters of mutual interest and to exchange views on important topics on the European and international agenda.”

"We discussed a number of opportunities before us to deepen and expand our exchange, starting with investments, energy, transport, the defense industry, agriculture, culture, and education," said President Radev. He noted that, as commanders-in-chief of their countries' armed forces, they also discussed security matters and preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, scheduled to take place in a month.

"In addition to being one of the leading economies in Europe, Poland has also established itself as a center of security, having achieved a defense investment of 4.7%—the highest in both NATO and the EU, with ambitions even to reach 5%," the Bulgarian head of state said. He noted that thanks to President Duda, this became possible in Poland, and that Duda himself had recently called on all NATO member states to invest no less than 3% in defense. This, Radev added, fully aligns with the priorities of Poland’s current presidency of the Council of the EU, which focuses on European security in all its dimensions, improving the efficiency of defense cooperation, strengthening the European defense industry, and enhancing Europe’s competitiveness through pragmatic solutions. 

"We see broad opportunities not only for more intensive cooperation between our armed forces, but for our entire industrial base in the defense sector to operate at a much higher capacity, with a wider range and more advanced technologies - if we work not only bilaterally but also coordinate our efforts to ensure that both Poland and Bulgaria are included in major European defence projects," Radev said.

He pointed out that President Duda is the author of the Three Seas Initiative. "Why is this initiative important to us? Because its primary goal is to bridge the infrastructure development gap between Eastern and Western Europe. This includes digital, energy, and transport infrastructure," he said. He recalled that during its presidency in 2021,  Bulgaria proposed expanding the initiative to include scientific and innovation connectivity among the countries in Central and Eastern Europe - and the participating countries are now working on that.

"We also discussed the development of a key project under this [Three Seas] initiative along the North-South axis - the Via Carpathia highway, which would allow our citizens to travel freely and quickly," the President said. He pointed out that there are already half a million tourists from Poland visiting Bulgaria, and that Polish tourists are returning, making it important to continue expanding this exchange.

According to him, 13 cities in Poland now have direct air links with Bulgaria. “This is encouraging. It speaks to a growing pace of economic exchange, investment, and most importantly - people-to-people ties,” Radev said.

"We cannot but be satisfied with the deepening of our relations in culture, science, and education," Radev added. He emphasized that the two nations are bound by strong spiritual and historical ties. In this regard, he and President Duda are launching a joint initiative to declare a Bulgarian-Polish Friendship and Cooperation Day, proposed for February 14, dedicated to the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius and their proclamation as co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II. "I am convinced this will be a strong message to the citizens of both our countries - to remember our shared history, spiritual ties, and common Slavic values," the head of state said. He added that this proposal would be jointly submitted to both national parliaments and is expected to be formalized through the appropriate legal process.

"We also discussed the challenges facing our continent. First and foremost, this means ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and achieving a sustainable peace based on the principles of international law and the UN Charter," the President said.

"Our priority remains to work together to ensure the security of the European continent, our strategic autonomy, and our capacity to play an active role in ensuring security, stability, and economic prosperity," Radev continued.

Asked how soon peace in Ukraine might be achieved and what role the EU should play, he said that it is a question even the world’s strongest leaders cannot yet answer. However, he stressed, "we must move toward unity - and that unity must be based on a swift cessation of hostilities, which should be set as a clear objective, followed by negotiations to achieve a lasting, sustainable peace based on international law."

"President Trump’s strong initiative, taken at the very start of his term, to pursue a ceasefire was at odds with the views of many European leaders, who wanted to provide full support to Ukraine so that the fighting could continue," Radev said. "I strongly hope that all sides will learn their lessons and we will be able to unite efforts to achieve sustainable peace. It is especially important for Europe to find its place in this process and develop its own vision for peace, because what leading European leaders are currently articulating is a vision of how the war should continue, but not how peace should be achieved." Every day of this war brings more victims, destruction, and devastation, "which one day Europe will have to rebuild," he concluded.