Islamabad:Pakistan and Bulgaria on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations by enhancing parliamentary diplomacy, expanding trade and investment and promoting cooperation in various areas.
The commitment was expressed during a meeting between MNA and Convener of the Pakistan-Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Group Ms Zeb Jaffar and a Bulgarian delegation led by Director General for Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Petko Doykov at Parliament House here.
The delegation included Bulgaria's Ambassador to Pakistan, Mrs. Irena Gancheva, along with senior officials from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. Before the meeting, Director General (Europe-I) at Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ishtiaq Ahmed Akil, briefed the convener on the current state of Pakistan-Bulgaria relations and outlined opportunities to strengthen parliamentary engagement, economic cooperation, educational exchanges, and people-to-people contacts.
Welcoming the delegation, Ms Zeb Jaffar said Pakistan and Bulgaria had enjoyed more than six decades of cordial relations based on mutual respect and cooperation. She congratulated Bulgaria on the successful parliamentary elections and the formation of its new Parliament, expressing hope that the Bulgaria-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group would soon be established to further institutionalize parliamentary cooperation.
She emphasised the importance of regular exchanges of parliamentarians to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy and called for enhanced collaboration in education, climate change, agriculture, youth and student exchange programmes, and cultural ties.
Highlighting Bulgaria's strategic location as a gateway to European markets, she stressed the need to expand bilateral trade and investment, strengthen cooperation through the Pakistan-EU business Forum, and encourage more high-level exchanges between the two countries.
