Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Gabriel, who met with the Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Otobescu today in Sofia, stated that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone is a significant success that will contribute to improving the sustainability and positive development of the region and Europe in general.

Luminita Otopescu, for her part, said the two sides agreed to coordinate their future actions to abolish controls at Europe’s internal borders, at the end of the meeting with her counterpart.

Otopescu is visiting Bulgaria at her invitation Maria Gabriel. The two heads of diplomacy had a bilateral meeting on current issues of bilateral and international interest, followed by talks between the two delegations.

Gabriel stated that the integration of the two states is the result of good bilateral cooperation. He added that joint efforts will continue throughout 2024 for our countries to achieve the abolition of land border controls as part of their accession to the Schengen area. Sofia and Bucharest have proven that with well-coordinated efforts they can achieve important goals, he pointed out.

Gabriele noted that Odbuscu’s visit to Bulgaria is the first official visit by a Romanian foreign minister in more than ten years. He pointed out that Romania is a strategic partner of Bulgaria.

Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria pointed out that March marks one year since the signing of the declaration on the strategic partnership between the two countries. Our commitment is to work together on connectivity — in science, education, energy, technology and innovation to ensure a more sustainable development of South-East Europe, he underlined.

Gabrielle said the meeting focused on building the European North-South transport corridor, connecting transport infrastructure and diversifying energy sources. In recent months, we have united and intensified our efforts to implement important infrastructure projects, such as the construction of a new bridge over the Danube, Gabriel said.

Also, her foreign minister Bulgaria expressed the will for the two countries to join forces to speed up the process of joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Finally, he noted that the two countries share responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the Black Sea region.