Bulgaria vows to expand cooperation among Balkan countries

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin on Monday said Bulgaria would try to expand cooperation among Balkan countries in the future, the Sofia News Agency reported.

Kalfin's remarks came after he met with Erhard Busek, special coordinator of the South-East Europe Stability Pact, to discuss Bulgaria's future presidency over the pact.

Bulgaria would actively seek to enhance the network of productive relations among all Balkan countries, Kalfin said at the meeting.

The Bulgarian government would also try to make sure the Balkan region assumes more responsibility for its development, he said.

Kalfin and Busek agreed that the region's development would require more cooperation among all Balkan countries, but that it would comply with the strategies and policies of the European Union (EU) at the same time.

Busek suggested that Balkan nations should consider creating a coordination office in Brussels, where all the main EU institutions are located.

Bulgaria is supposed to lead the process of cooperation in southeast Europe in the spring of 2007.

Source: Xinhua