UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel holds his first official visit to Bulgaria

Sofia, 25 February 2019. In the framework of his outreach to Member States, the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, has paid his first official visit to Bulgaria on the 25^th of February 2019, following an invitation by Ekaterina Zakharieva, Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.

During their meeting, Secretary General Kamel expressed his appreciation to Minister Zakharieva for the support of her country to the UfM, highlighting that Bulgaria has always been a natural bridge between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean countries, and has close ties to the Mare Nostrum in terms of culture, history and heritage.  Secretary General Kamel also provided an update on recent UfM activities, underlining the role of the organization in a rapidly evolving regional context, while encouraging the Bulgarian side to further engage with the Union for the Mediterranean.

On her side, Minister Zakharieva expressed her regard for the added value that the UfM brings to the region, while stressing that the UfM can rely on the continued support of her country. Minister Zakharieva also expressed Bulgarian interest in operationalizing cooperation between the Union for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), in light of Bulgaria’s current chairmanship of the latter.

Aiming to further enhance Bulgaria’s engagement in UfM activities, Secretary General Kamel also met with Peter Nikolov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education, as well as Boris Stanimirov, Advisor to the Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water.