Ivan Melnikov discussed with the Bulgarian delegation economic cooperation between the two countries
In addition, the parties discussed at the meeting issues of development of relations in the field of tourism and inter-parliamentary interaction
The First Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov
Ivan Ivanovich
held a meeting with the Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria Nikolina Angelkova and a parliamentary
delegation led by the Vice-Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria Yavor Notev during their visit to the Russian Federation.
The parties noted the recent reactivation of the political dialogue between Moscow and Sofia, welcomed the mutual intention of the leaders of the two countries to strengthen Russian-Bulgarian ties. The meeting participants also expressed hope that this year, marking the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Bulgaria, bilateral relations will be further developed.
The parties paid special attention to trade and economic cooperation and were pleased to note that Russia is among the five largest trading partners of Bulgaria (in 2017, mutual trade reached almost $ 3.5 billion — an increase of 24%).This indicator shows the positive dynamics in trade and economic relations in the current conditions of sanctions.
During the conversation, the meeting participants highlighted expanding cooperation in the field of tourism, especially in terms of increasing tourist flows to both countries. In particular, the parties discussed issues of establishment of tourist cooperation between the regions of the two countries, twin cities and the development of cruise tourism in the Black Sea.
The participants of the meeting “synchronized their watches” on an issue of cooperation between the parliamentary friendship groups of the two countries and outlined the main areas of cooperation in the current year.
The meeting was attended by parliamentarians — members of the Russia-Bulgaria Friendship Group of the State Duma and members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Bulgarian National Assembly with Russia, as well as the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Russian Federation Atanas Krastin.
