Friendship and cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece are of strategic importance for peace, stability and the development of the region, President Rosen Plevneliev said following a meeting with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias.
Plevneliev is in Athens on a two-day visit, his first in the region as president, his press office said in a statement on Wednesday. He is also the first European head-of-state to visit the Mediterranean country after the June elections.
"Greece is a very important trade and economic partner for Bulgaria, where it continues to occupy one of the leading positions in terms of trade and in foreign investments," Plevneliev said.
In turn, Papoulias said that despite the economic crises, bilateral trade last year grew 18% to 2.4 billion euro ($3.01 billion), whereas Greek investments in Bulgaria exceed 3.0 billion euro.