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

Record ID: 863627

  • 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: PRESIDENCY BUILDING BULGARIAN AND CROATIAN DELEGATIONS SITTING AT TABLE CROATIAN DELEGATION BULGARIAN DELEGATION NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS CROATIAN OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) PRESIDENT OF CROATIA, IVO JOSIPOVIC, SAYING: "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." CAMERA CREWS (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) PRESIDENT OF CROATIA, IVO JOSIPOVIC, SAYING: "We feel uneasy by the fact that our countries haven't used all economic possibilities to further develop our trade relations." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) PRESIDENT OF BULGARIA, ROSEN PLEVNELIEV, SAYING: "In our view the postponement of Bulgaria and Romania's entry into the Shengen zone is more a political, than a technical question." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) PRESIDENT OF BULGARIA, ROSEN PLEVNELIEV, SAYING: "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." PRESIDENTS SHAKING HANDS AT THE END OF THE NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bulgaria
  • City:
  • Country: Bulgaria
  • Topics: General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADEUQ0UH864WI8ZI7BNANGKH0J
  • 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
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