Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova held a working lunch on Monday with her Dutch counterpart Tom Berendsen to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, deepening political dialogue, European issues and security in the Black Sea. Petrova is on an official visit to the Netherlands.
One of the topics was the EU budget and the positions of the two countries. The ministers discussed how mutually acceptable solutions could be found and to what extent the two countries could work together on a budget that would strengthen their economies, while taking into account respective circumstances.
Another important topic was how to give diplomacy a greater role in order to reach peaceful solutions to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The Netherlands is one of the countries that provides substantial assistance to Ukraine, Petrova noted. The two ministers discussed the role of diplomacy and the extent to which it had not been used sufficiently so far. “We believe it is high time for Europe to play a more active role. Both countries agreed that this is key,” Petrova said.
Bilateral issues were also on the agenda. Petrova noted that, with the new government taking office, Bulgaria is placing greater emphasis on an economy based not only on traditional industries but also on high-value-added and high-technology sectors. “These are areas where we can find many meeting points with the Netherlands,” Petrova said, and added that the Netherlands is a leader in global chip manufacturing.
“There are many opportunities for continued Dutch investment in Bulgaria,” Petrova said.
The two also discussed security in the Black Sea and the importance of joint efforts on the issue. Petrova presented the security hub established by Bulgaria and Romania. She appealed for Dutch support, noting that the Netherlands has extensive experience in maintaining and protecting port infrastructure against hybrid threats, which will also be a focus of Bulgaria’s work on the hub.
Bulgarian, Dutch Foreign Ministers Discuss EU Budget, Black Sea Security 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-05 18:16:03
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