Sofia, Bulgaria 27 Apr. 2006

Opening remarks at the Welcoming reception for Ministers and participants at the National History Museum Informal meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign Ministers IVAILO KALFIN (Bulgarian Foreign Minister): Secretary General, Madame Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, dear colleagues, friends, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to say how pleased we are to be the hosts of this informal meeting and a bit later on of the transatlantic dinner. And we've started very intensively, and I believe our dialogue is very useful, which once again shows the importance and the relevance of these meetings and discussions. And I do hope that the talks will continue later on this evening at the transatlantic dinner and also tomorrow, and I hope that we've created the necessary environment and conditions for that. The only thing I'm sorry for is that time is too short for you to see more of Sofia . I'd like to welcome you to Sofia once again, and give the floor to the President of the Republic, Mr. Georgi Purvanov. GEORGI PURVANOV (President of Bulgaria): Mr. Secretary General, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed an honour and pleasure for me to welcome you at this meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the NATO countries. And I believe that the very fact of the capital city of this country has been chosen to be the host of this meeting can be taken as recognition, or an assessment of our abilities to be stable, predictable and sustainable partner. I believe that the meeting here in Sofia can have key importance for the preparation of the summit, the meeting of the Heads of State and Government in the autumn of this year. And I'm sure that the discussions to be held here will have a strong political impact for strengthening the Alliance , for speeding up the transformation and for creating opportunities to better meet the challenges ahead of us. And I trust that the discussions and the positions expressed there will strengthen the Alliance at a global scale and also further promote the relations we have with partners in various parts of the world. And I find it important that the agenda of this meeting carries also the formats by the NATO-Russia meeting or the NATO-Ukraine Commission. And the fact that the meeting is taking place in the very heart of the Balkans can be considered, ladies and gentlemen, as a good opportunity to review the situation and the issues here. And I wish to believe that the meeting here, as well as the meeting of the Heads of State and Government in the autumn will send a clear signal for the Euro-Atlantic prospects of the applicant countries in the area. And finally, allow me too to express my hope that you'll have the opportunity to feel the traditional Bulgarian hospitality and to see at least a small part of our magnificence nature and our brilliant historical and cultural heritage. We're now in the National Museum of History and this will give you an opportunity to take a glimpse of our very rich historical and cultural heritage, and hopefully it will motivate you to come back here when you have more time to enjoy and to learn more about this country. I wish you all the best, and please remember to taste the very good Bulgarian wine. (APPLAUSE) IVAILO KALFIN (Bulgarian Foreign Minister): Thank you Mr. President, and now I'd like to give the floor to the Secretary General of NATO, His Excellency Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER (Secretary General of NATO): Mr. President, Mr. Foreign Minister, Mme Kalfin, Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the sentence that I'm about to say is going to survive the translation. (SPEAKING IN BULGARIAN)... It is a pleasure to be in Sofia . Thank you Mr. President, Minister, for the wonderful hospitality we all are enjoying here today and tomorrow. We have to mark the occasion that this is the very first time since Bulgaria joined the Washington Treaty and joined NATO that we see NATO Ministers meet in Sofia . Let's enjoy the moment. And we all know that the meeting takes place at a difficult moment for Bulgaria and other states in the region because of the fight against the terrible flooding. But we are enjoying hospitality in what I would call a staunch ally, an ally that is participating in many NATO operations and missions, and that is certainly one of the reasons that we are all here tonight. Mr. President, Mr. Minister, you said it already, NATO has an interesting and tasked(?) agenda between this meeting now, which is also important to prepare the summit in Riga we're going to have at the end of November. So I say thank you for your hospitality and when I say that that is not only hospitality for the Ministers and for myself, but I'm looking at Mrs. Kalfin, there is also the hospitality all these spouses enjoy and you have also been very, very nice to organize a very interesting spouses program, and that should definitely be mentioned as well. This, of course, on behalf of my wife and all the other spouses travelling to Sofia . Let me end by saying that I hope that we will all have a moment to enjoy this magnificent museum. After that work awaits us again, but I'm sure we're all enjoying ourselves, and once again, Mr. President, Minister, Mrs. Kalfin, a warm thank you for the great hospitality we are all enjoying in Sofia . Thank you ever so much. (APPLAUSE)