Bulgarian-Polish relations

For the first time in 13 years, on April 18, 2016, Polish President Andrzej Duda paid a state visit to Sofia to meet with his colleague Rosen Plevneliev and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov . ^{[1] The} Heads of State discussed options for expanding business relations and deepening bilateral security cooperation. At a joint press conference, Presidents Plevneliev and Duda called on Russia to abandon its "aggressive actions" and "return" to the international order and uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine . ^[2]

Prime Minister Borisov noted that Poland is a “very important country” for Bulgaria, and Sofia highly appreciates the development of bilateral relations in the context of the EU and NATO . Other topics of discussion were cooperation in the field of defense and security, trade and economic relations, and opportunities to realize all of its potential. Mr Borisov added that Bulgaria “relies” on Poland to support “common interests” in the field of energy security and the creation of the EU Energy Union. ^[3]

President Duda said that his visit to Sofia is “the implementation of the ABC format” - the Adriatic , Baltic , Black Sea (Adriatyk, Bałtyk, Morze Czarne in Polish) is a project to expand transport and energy infrastructure in this large region. Mr Duda also said that “there is no doubt” that NATO should strengthen its eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea . ^[4] In a joint statement, Mr. Duda and Mr. Plevneliev stated that the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw in July “is critical to the security of Eastern Europe.” Mr. Plevneliev stressed the need to expand NATO's presence in Central and Eastern Europe , as well as to conduct additional joint exercises and exercises.

Over the past five years, the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries has doubled: from 670 million Euros in 2010 to 1.3 billion Euros in 2015. ^[5] Bulgaria is also a traditional destination for Polish tourists, as last year 260,000 Polish tourists visited Bulgarian resorts, the statement said. The statistics of the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria confirm the data, and also show that trade exchange is more or less balanced, and imports from Poland slightly exceed exports for the same period. For example, trade data for 2015 show that imports and exports from and to Poland are about the same as with the Netherlands, the traditional investor and trading partner of Bulgaria. ^[6] .

Tourist visits from Poland increased by 7% in 2014 ^[7] and 3.2% in 2015. In 2015, Poland took 8th place in the ranking of 10 most important tourism markets in Bulgaria. In January 2016, the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria announced that it expects an increase in the number of Poles visiting Bulgaria in 2016 by 40%. ^[8] Large Bulgarian cities, such as Sofia and Varna , purchased Polish-made trams and buses for their public transport systems. According to media reports, the total purchase amount is estimated at approximately 90 million euros.

In October 2015, Bulgaria signed a contract with two Polish companies for repairs on six engines for the country's MiG-29 fighters. ^[9] Maintenance and supply of Soviet military equipment was usually carried out by the Russian MiG RSK; in September 2015, the contract was still in effect. The price of Polish contracts was 6.1 million Euros, and it was reportedly lower than the Russian company offered, although the price of the contract was never published. Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Nenchev said the new contract will cost 12 million euros cheaper. In December 2015, Poland delivered two spare Mig-29 engines to Bulgaria, which will be used to repair the remaining six engines. ^[10] At the end of March, the Bulgarian government approved a program of 1.2 billion Euros aimed at modernizing its armed forces. ^[11] During a working visit of Mr. Nenchev to Warsaw in February 2015, then-Polish Minister of Defense Tomasz Semonyak said that Bulgaria was interested in Poland’s experience in military reforms, training programs, equipment and military equipment. ^[12]

In March 2016, at an international conference in Warsaw, representatives of the governments of Lithuania , Poland , Romania , Slovakia , Turkey , Hungary and Ukraine signed a declaration on promoting the construction of a new transport route called Via Carpatia. Bulgaria did not sign the document, but the Polish media informed the Polish government that Bulgaria supported the project and would enter into the future. Statements by Presidents Duda and Plevneliev in Sofia speak of the development of cross-border ties and infrastructure.

• Embassy of Bulgaria in Warsaw
• Embassy of Poland in Sofia