President Dimitar Glavchev (left) of the Bulgarian parliament and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon shake hands at the Seoul Government Office on Aug. 23. (Prime Minister’s Office)

President Dimitar Glavchev (left) of the Bulgarian parliament and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon shake hands at the Seoul Government Office on Aug. 23. (Prime Minister’s Office)

By Kim Young Shin 

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon held a meeting with Bulgarian National Assembly President Dimitar Glavchev to talk about ways to bolster cooperation between Korea and Bulgaria, in Seoul on Aug. 23. President Glavchev is on an official visit to Korea from Aug. 20 to 23 in response to the invitation from Korean National Assembly speaker Chung Sye-kyun.

“I hope that cooperation between our two nations deepens and expands across various fields, such as defense, energy and agriculture,” said Prime Minister Lee. “I hope that Korean companies will continue to contribute to the development of the Bulgarian economy.”

The prime minister also mentioned the fact that Bulgaria will take over the presidency of the EU in the first half of 2018. He said, “I expect closer cooperation between our two countries and stronger ties between Korea and the EU.”

President Glavchev said that the relationship between the two countries has been continuously developing since 2015 when a “comprehensive and future-oriented partnership” was first established. He hopes to strengthen the mutual and future-oriented partnership, he said, including cooperation between the two nations on international affairs.

Prime Minister Lee spoke highly of Bulgaria for actively joining the international community and for standing against provocations from North Korea, such as the test launch of ballistic missiles. The two parties also agreed to cooperate on North Korea’s military threats.

ysk1111@korea.kr