Plevneliev, Djukanovic Discuss Projects to Increase Energy, Transport Connections

President Rosen Plevneliev told Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic that the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans was a foreign policy priority issue for Bulgaria.

Plevneliev and Djukanovic agreed at a meeting in Sofia on Friday that regional projects aimed at increasing connectedness in the sectors of energy and transport paved the way for economic cooperation in Southeastern Europe, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Bulgaria's President emphasized that the gas grid interconnections between the countries in the region had to be built as fast as possible.

Plevneliev also backed the creation of a regional energy exchange.

Djukanovic said that Montenegro was working to boost Bulgarian investments.

He suggested that the two countries could cooperate in the spheres of transport, energy, tourism, agriculture, and food production.

Plevneliev and Djukanovic informed that a bilateral agreement on the mutual protection of investments was being coordinated.
Meanwhile, the energy ministers of Bulgaria and Montenegro, Temenuzhka Petkova and Vladimir Kavaric, agreed on the establishment of a joint working group for energy cooperation.

The group will look into the opportunities for exporting electricity from Bulgaria to Montenegro.

During the meeting, Petkova expressed Bulgaria's readiness to help Montenegro transpose EU energy legislation into domestic law.