Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister: Through the Three Seas Initiative we will present the region as a good place for investments

The opportunities of the Three Seas Initiative and the Bulgarian chairmanship this year should present the region as a good place to invest and recover from the crisis, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, who is also the national coordinator of the initiative, said on February 18 during the online forum "Three Seas 2021: The Road to Sofia", organized by the US Atlantic Council.

"Political declarations are not enough, we need daily work of governments and the private sector - she stressed. - It is up to us to accelerate the implementation of projects, to attract new investments in the region, to facilitate business contacts and connectivity between citizens," said Ekaterina Zaharieva , who was a special guest speaker at the event.

She called for more active interaction between the public sector and business as a guarantee for achieving the goals of the initiative, which involves 12 EU member states, supported by the United States, Germany and the European Commission.

"I am convinced that this year is the time to implement the decisions within the framework of the Three Seas," Zaharieva added.

She stressed the strong support for the initiative by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressed in a special video address during a meeting of foreign ministers and national coordinators last week.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister welcomed the commitment made by the United States to support the Three Seas Investment Fund with $ 1 billion for energy projects, as well as the decision of the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to make a first installment of 300 million. dollars. She emphasized that it was crucial for member states and EU partners, Germany and the United States to work together to further expand the Fund with both public and private capital, and to reach the 5 billion-euro target.

"Building trust throughout the region as an attractive investment market with a population of over 110 million people needs a targeted communication strategy involving not only politicians but also business communities, NGOs, the media. We are confident that the Atlantic Council will continue to "support us in this endeavor by spreading the good news of the Three Seas to American investors," Zaharieva said.

Zaharieva presented the priorities of Bulgaria in the year of the chairmanship, which include energy security and diversification of energy sources and their supply routes, as well as increasing transport and digital connectivity between the countries. She stressed that one of the goals of our country is to build better regional connectivity, including in technology and innovation, building on the achievements of last year's Estonian chairmanship.

"High-tech developments in digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy create new opportunities for an intelligent network between university research and innovation centres, offering chances to our young innovators and IT professionals to stay working in the region," she said.

Among the participants in the forum were General James Jones, Executive Director of the Three Seas Programing at the Atlantic Council; Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher as Co-Chair of the Council’s Three Seas programming; US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Matthew Boyce; political experts and investors.

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The Three Seas initiative bings together 12 EU member states located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.