The president of Cyprus Mr. Dimitris Christofias paid a visit to Bulgaria on 6-7 Oct, 2008
November 18th, 2008|
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| A picture from the official dinner given by the President of Bulgaria Georgi Purvanov, with Mr. Christopher Violaris being guest of honour. From right to left: Christopher Violaris (Chairman and MD of Eurolink Investment Group), Dimitris Christofias (President of the Republic of Cyprus) and Assia Violaris (wife of Christopher Violaris) |
The President of Cyprus, Mr. Dimitris Christofias paid an official visit to Sofia at the invitation of the President of Bulgaria, Mr. Georgi Purvanov. ‘We are bound by an old friendship but also by new favorable opportunities in the future that can benefit our two nations’, the President of Cyprus stated. He revealed his satisfaction with the talks held with his Bulgarian colleague Georgi Purvanov and pictured them as being constructive and useful, outlining new perspectives for the strengthening of the bilateral relations.
A protocol for strengthening the cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Cyprus was signed before the Presidents of the two countries. The program of Mr Christofias included a working lunch with the Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev as well as discussions with the National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski. During the talks, Georgi Pirinski expressed the will of the Bulgarian parliament to further promote the active and friendly relations between the two countries and their parliaments respectively. Both Mr. Pirinski and Mr. Christofias emphasized the interest of the two countries to give impetus to the trade and economic relations that have yet unused potential. During the conversations the two sides stressed their common positions on a number of regional and international issues. They shared the understanding that the European perspective for the Western Balkans is a vital guarantee for their security and for the stability of the region. The Speaker of Bulgarian parliament pointed the personal contribution and efforts of Mr. Christofias to the renewal of the negotiations regarding the Cyprus problem and expressed his hope that a lasting and just solution would be found.
During the visit other meetings were also made. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries, Ivaylo Kalfin and Markos Kyprianou had their discussions, so did the Minister of the Bulgarian Economy and Energy Petar Dimitrov and the Minister of the Cyprus Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides.
On the second day of his visit, Mr. Christofias attended the opening of “Cyprus – International and business center” seminar, as well as the official opening of the Cyprus participation in the “Wall poetry” initiative launched by the Dutch Embassy.
