BELGRADE, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria and Serbia are ready to work jointly on improving the European perspective of the region by strengthening bilateral relations and trade, the two countries' presidents agreed during their meeting here Thursday.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrived here on Thursday for a two-day visit to Serbia where he agreed to work with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic on overcoming past differences between Serbia and Bulgaria for the sake of the European integration of the Balkans, boosting economic cooperation and improving the situation of the Bulgarian minority in Serbia.
At a press conference after the meeting, Radev noted that there had been a significant increase in trade and tourism exchanges between the two countries, as well as large infrastructural projects in progress such as the Belgrade-Sofia highway connection and the modernization of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway, as well as the pre-project gas pipeline interconnection Nis-Dimitrovgrad.
He called for even more cooperation, highlighting river and air transport as areas of interest.
Radev expressed support for Serbia's European integration process, suggesting that membership in 2025 was an "ambitious but reachable goal".
He said both sides should work to replace hate speech with cooperation and friendly relations.
Vucic said the two presidents "agreed that it is the right moment to completely overcome the past and open a new clean chapter for the future."
Vucic went on to cite the significant increase in trade over the past five years, revealing that last year's trade volumes exceeded one billion euros (1.15 billion U.S. dollars).
Vucic announced Serbia's readiness to fulfill all obligations towards members of Bulgarian minority living in Serbia in accordance with the highest standards of the European Union (EU), including financing Bulgarian language media, and further improving accessibility of health care and education for Bulgarian communities.
Radev, who also met Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Speaker Maja Gojkovic, will visit Bulgarian minority communities on Friday in the Serbian cities of Dimitrovgrad and Bosilegrad.