BULGARIA: Croatian President Ivo Josipovic meets with President Rosen Plevneliev in Sofia at the start of his official two-day state visit

Record ID: 860802

  • Title: BULGARIA: Croatian President Ivo Josipovic meets with President Rosen Plevneliev in Sofia at the start of his official two-day state visit
  • Date: 14th October 2013
  • Summary: BULGARIAN AND CROATIAN FLAGS BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ROSEN PLEVNELIEV (LEFT) AND CROATIAN PRESIDENT IVO JOSIPOVIC (RIGHT) STANDING BY CONVOY AND DELEGATES
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bulgaria
  • City:
  • Country: Bulgaria
  • Topics: General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5B7OGTANQ7CNNXKO4XWEXZMMR
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Croatian President Ivo Josipovic arrived to Sofia on Monday (October 14) to hold bi-lateral talks with his Bulgarian counterpart.
    Josipovic was greeted by president Rosen Plevneliev with a welcome ceremony featuring the country's guard of honour, during which they played the Croatian and Bulgarian national anthems.
    During a joint news conference at the presidency building, Josipovic said that political relations between the two countries were stable.
    "It was pointed out (during the conversations with the Bulgarian president) that there are no political issues between our countries that could be alarming for any of us," Josipovic said.
    However, he said that not enough was being done to improve Croatian-Bulgarian trade relations.
    "We feel uneasy by the fact that our countries haven't used all economic possibilities to further develop our trade relations," Josipovic added.
    Meanwhile Plevneliev commented on Romania's entry into the passport-free Schengen zone.
    "In our view the postponement of Bulgaria and Romania's entry into the Shengen zone is more a political, than a technical question," Plevneliev said.
    "We are expecting a decision very soon, including at the forthcoming meeting of interior ministers of EU countries, where the Shengen topic will be debated," Plevneliev added.
    Josipovic state visit to Bulgaria will continue on Tuesday (October 15) where he will be attending a Bulgarian-Croatian business form, followed by a lecture at Sofia's University on European perspectives of Southeast Europe.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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