Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday received President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Georgiev Radev, who is on a working visit to the UAE.
During the reception, which took place at the Qasr Al Shati’ Palace in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed expressed his hope that this visit would contribute to opening fresh prospects for consolidating the relations between the two countries in all fields for the higher good of their peoples.
The two presidents explored avenues of cooperation between the UAE and Bulgaria, notably in the economic, investment, development and environment fields, as well as in areas of renewable energy and food security, which are all major drivers of sustainable development in the two nations.
They also exchanged views on the latest regional and global developments as well as issues of interest, stressing in this regard the importance of strengthening dialogue, and constructive endeavours to develop peaceful solutions to conflicts and crises in some regions of the world, in a way that helps the peoples of the world realise their ambitions for peace, development and prosperity and promotes regional and global security and stability.
Sheikh Mohamed said that the friendship and cooperation ties between the UAE and Bulgaria are witnessing a remarkable and growing development, noting that the UAE is now one of Bulgaria’s key trading partners in the region.
For his part, the President of Bulgaria expressed his happiness at visiting the UAE and thanked Sheikh Mohamed for the warm reception.
He said that his country is looking forward to further growing relations with the UAE to serve their mutual interests, and advance sustainable development efforts for the common good of their peoples.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides affirmed their keenness to advance their bilateral relations and diversify cooperation in a way that enhances their development drive and strengthens their national economy. The two leaders stressed that the two nations share the importance of promoting the values of cooperation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Sheikh Mohamed hosted a dinner banquet in honor of the Bulgarian President and the accompanying delegation.
In attendance were Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Deputy National Security Adviser, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Court; Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the Emirates Schools Establishment; Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council; Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Member of the Executive Council; and Sultan Rashid Al Kaitoob, UAE Ambassador to Bulgaria.
In attendance from the Bulgarian President’s accompanying delegation were Hristo Aleksiev, Deputy Prime Minister For Economic Policies And Minister Of Transport And Communications; Nikolay Milkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Nikola Stoyanov, Minister of Economy and Industry; Alexander Poulev, Minister of Innovation and Growth; Antoan Gechev, Chairman of the State Intelligence Agency; and a number of senior officials.
Memoranda of Understandings
The two presidents witnessed the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to enhance joint cooperation, including
• MoU on the strategic partnership between the governments of the UAE and the Republic of Bulgaria, signed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Nikolay Milkov, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
• MoU between the UAE Ministry of Education and the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, signed by Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, and Minister Milkov.
• MoU between the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, signed by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Nikola Stoyanov, Minister of Economy and Industry.
• MoU for cooperation on sustainable development and agri-food between the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in Bulgaria, singed by Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Minister Stoyanov.
• MoU between the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, signed by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Minister Melkov.
• MoU between the Emirates News Agency (WAM) and its counterpart the Bulgarian News Agency, signed by Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director-General of WAM, and Kiril Valchev, Director-General of the Bulgarian News Agency.
