Bulgaria’s Caretaker Ministers Meet with US Ambassador H.E. Herro Mustafa

Bulgaria's caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Svetlan Stoev and Minister of Economy, Kiril Petkov, and the US Ambassador H.E. Herro Mustafa on May 17 discussed topics from the shared agenda of the Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue, as well as the Bulgarian chairmanship of the Three Seas Initiative.

Minister Stoev stressed the continuity in the foreign policy of the caretaker government, as well as the desire of the Bulgarian side to further deepen the strategic partnership with the United States both bilaterally and in the context of transatlantic relations.

He focused on key priorities for Bulgaria in the relations with the United States, including Bulgaria's accession to the US Visa Waiver Program, the start of negotiations on a bilateral Social Security Agreement, support for Bulgaria's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Later into the day, US Ambassador HE Herro Mustafa met with Bulgaria's caretaker Minister of Defene Georgi Panayotov

They discussed the development and prospects of bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and the United States in the field of defence.

"I will work actively to further strengthen trust and deepen the strategic relations between Bulgaria and the United States," said Minister Panayotov.

He expressed satisfaction that his first meeting since taking office was with the US Ambassador and stressed the potential for building upon the strategic partnership between the two countries.