Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr President,

Dear Bulgarian friends and colleagues,

Let me welcome you to the capital of Russia.

Today, we are marking a significant date – 125 years since our countries established diplomatic relations. A great many events have taken place in the life of our countries in these years. Our interaction has considerable positive potential. It is wonderful to see that in the last two to three years, relations between our states have been developing dynamically, and this concerns both political interaction and economic cooperation. It is enough to mention that our trade turnover increased by 25% in 2003. We interact and cooperate in a great many areas.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome such a representative delegation. We are certain that your visit to Russia will serve as a new impulse to the development of bilateral ties.

Georgi Parvanov: Dear Mr President,

Let me first of all thank you for your invitation and the opportunity you gave us to be your guests in such a representative delegation. We can note with satisfaction that the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries is a new stage of the development of relations at a higher level in all areas. It maybe immodest to say that we, the presidents, set the tone, but at the same time it should be pointed out that, both the parliaments and the governments, as well as regional authorities, are all working energetically. It gives me particular pleasure to note the significant contribution of civil structures to the development of these relations, as does the fact that our idea to establish a business forum has been translated into life.

Indeed, the volumes of the trade and investment are increasing, as is the tourist flow, but we know very well that we have the potential to go much further. I am pleased that we hold not merely formal, but business, working meetings and the results of both our personal meetings and the meetings between delegation members are productive.