Bulgarian President visits Georgia after 15 year break

After a 15 year hiatus, the President of Bulgaria is visiting Georgia and offering his heartfelt condolences four days after a flood that caused devastating damage in capital Tbilisi.

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili met his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev today and stressed that the visit of the Bulgarian official during this trying time in Georgia was "very important and sincere”.

The Bulgarian President had not visited Georgia for more than 15 years so this visit will add emotion and stimulate our bilateral relations,” said Margvelashvili.

Particularly I would like to emphasize that the presence of the President of Bulgaria, with whom I have a warm relationship, is particularly encouraging for us today, when a few days ago our country suffered a severe natural disaster, because we can see that our friends stand beside us,” he said.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev visited the area that was destroyed by the flash flood on Saturday night. Photo by Georgia's President administration.

The Bulgarian President had planned to come to Tbilisi before the natural disaster struck, and while here he is due to attend the 12th international conference Georgia's European Way in Batumi, Georgia’s Black Sea coastal city.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev visited the area that was destroyed by the flash flood on Saturday night. Photo by Georgia's President administration.

At the meeting President Margvelashvili thanked Bulgaria for supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity and its Euro-Atlantic integration. In response the Bulgarian official said his country "fully supports” the right of the Georgian population to freely travel, work and trade in European Union (EU) countries.

We are the driving force, the engine of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and we do everything possible to support this process. Since 2016 the EU aims to allow the countries to travel visa-free. Perhaps, my words are very clear - I do not want this to happen in 2016. I wish this to be implemented tomorrow," said President Plevneliev at today’s joint press conference with President Margvelashvili.

The Georgian official also stressed that Bulgaria was an important hub for European transportation and was seriously developing its capabilities. "Naturally in this context, Georgian-Bulgarian transport cooperation across the Black Sea is becoming more and more important,” said Margvelashvili.

On another note, the Bulgarian President spent time with Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today and discussed ways to further Georgia’s relationship with Euro-Atlantic structures.

The Bulgarian President noted in compared to last year, Georgian exports to the EU had increased by 18 percent, and he again stressed Bulgaria supported Georgia's Euro-Atlantic perspective and visa-free travel regime with EU.

The bilateral relationship between Georgia and Bulgaria was also discussed, as was Georgia’s tourism and investment potential.

Before the day ended the Bulgarian President visited the area that was destroyed by the flash flood on Saturday night and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and all those affected by the disaster.