Bulgaria thanks Turkey for supporting its NATO membership

SOFIA (AA) – Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Mehmet Dulger said on Thursday that they were ready to extend every support to Turkish businessmen investing abroad.

A delegation comprised of five parliamentarians who are members of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission continued their meetings in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria’s NATO and European Union (EU) membership and recent situation of bilateral relations were taken up in the meeting between the delegation and Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Plamen Panayotov.

Panayotov thanked Turkey for its support to Bulgaria’s NATO membership and stated that the Bulgarian parliament and government would continue its efforts to further improve cooperation with Turkey.

Noting that there were not any problems between Turkey and Bulgaria, Panayotov said that Turkish-Bulgarian relations could constitute an example for other neighboring countries.

The delegation was later received by President Georgi Purvanov.

The meeting which was closed to the press was held in a very sincere atmosphere.

Parliamentarians later met with Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Ognyan Gerdjikov. Cooperation opportunities between two parliaments were taken up in the meeting.

The delegation later visited Bulgarian State Television and received information from the team preparing news in Turkish.

Parliamentarians then met with Turkish businessmen working in Bulgaria and listened to their problems.

Turkish-Bulgarian Businessmen’s Association Chairman Osman Bulent Yildirim said that the most important problem of Turkish businessmen working in Bulgaria was residence and work permit.

Yildirim noted that they met bureaucratic hurdles when they wanted to get permission to live and work in Bulgaria and asked parliamentarians to help solution of their problem.

Dulger said that they would launch necessary initiatives for solution of that problem and noted that they were ready to extend every support to Turkish businessmen investing abroad.

They should make use of positive atmosphere in Turkish-Bulgarian relations, Dulger added.

The delegation’s visit to Bulgaria will end on Friday.

After visiting Plovdiv on Friday, parliamentarians will return to Turkey.