Bulgaria and Norway Will Work on Joint Projects in the Western Balkans

I am confident that today's visit will boost economic relations, first of all, as at the political level we have no open bilateral issues and have always been countries of the same mind when it comes to international issues, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said at a plenary meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, Ine Soreide, Focus News Agency reported.

"During our meeting today, we agreed with Norway to work together on our development programmes - especially for young people, for education. I will be glad if we exchange our experience," Zaharieva said. She expressed her gratitude for Norway's assistance, which is especially important to Bulgaria in terms of sharing experience, meetings with people, and contacts between institutions. 

Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen is close the Bulgarian people's hearts, one of the main boulevards in the capital carry his name to this day, Zaharieva said. "He started an initiative with the so-called Nansen passports for stateless persons and refugees after World War I, which allowed Bulgarian citizens to return to their homeland," the deputy prime minister noted.