Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel and Undersecretary and Senior Political Advisor Derek Scholey opened the second session of the Bulgaria-USA Strategic Dialogue at the State Department in Washington.
The event takes place three years after the start of the dialogue, set in 2020. and only 4 months from the beginning of the mandate of the “Denkov-Gabriel” cabinet.
The purpose of the dialogue is to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of priority importance for both countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel leads the Bulgarian delegation, which includes the Minister of Justice Assoc. Dr. Atanas Slavov, the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev, the Minister of Innovation Milena Stoycheva, the Deputy Ministers – Atanas Zapryanov – of Defense, Ivelina Dundakova – of Internal Affairs and – Dr. Georgi Angelov- of innovation and growth.
“I would like to thank the United States of America, and in particular the Department of State, for hosting this important second session of our bilateral strategic dialogue. Today, Bulgaria and the USA are closer than ever as friends, allies and partners”, said Maria Gabriel at the opening of the forum.
“The strategic dialogue between Bulgaria and the USA was established in a very different international environment compared to the current one. Today we are faced with a wide range of new challenges that put regional and global security and prosperity to the test”, the Deputy Prime Minister also said.
In her speech, she identified the main topics on which the dialogue will be conducted – common approaches to regional and global problems, deepening of cooperation in the field of defense and security, expansion of cooperation in the economy and energy, protection of democracy and the rule of law, expansion of bilateral ties.
“There is potential in the development of close relations and cooperation in the field of innovation and research. Innovations are the engine of economic growth and sectoral reforms and will provide a competitive advantage, also using the possibilities of artificial intelligence, green energy, robotics and automation,” emphasizes Maria Gabriel.
She also commented on the need for united and more effective actions against disinformation and hybrid attacks and emphasized the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria and the USA on countering foreign manipulation of information, which will be signed within the framework of the forum.
