Press Remarks by EAM Dr S. Jaishankar following the meeting with Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova of Bulgaria (June 10, 2026)

Thank you very much.

Let me say first of all, it is a great pleasure to be back in Sofia, particularly at this time. Minister Velislava Petrova and I have just completed our talks and I look forward to further discussions later this evening. Before that, I had the honour to call on Prime Minister Rumen Radev and conveyed the personal greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Our discussions today had three dimensions: first, the bilateral cooperation between India and Bulgaria, second, the partnership between India and the European Union, and third, what our two countries can do together in the world and for the world. That is largely in the multilateral domain.

Where India-Bulgaria ties are concerned, these are longstanding and very comfortable. Our task is to refashion that into a contemporary and forward-looking relationship. Politically, as our talks confirmed, we share many similar approaches and outlook. Economically, an India growing at 7-8% annually offers many new opportunities, both incoming and outgoing. Within India, there are possibilities in agro and food processing, pharmaceuticals, engineering, digital and defence. Out of India, our companies are making new investments and seeking further collaborations to prove their competitiveness and enhance market access, and I am sure that with the encouragement of the Government, it will surely come.

Our bilateral ties have many other facets to explore and develop because our cooperation has been longstanding. We recognize Sofia University as having one of the oldest Indology departments in Europe. Yoga and Ayurveda, I believe, are gaining in popularity in Bulgaria. In the past, some well-known Indian films were shot on location in this country. As India emerges as a significant hub of global creative industry, this tradition can surely be revived, and I invited the Bulgarian creative industry to come to India. It is particularly important to connect the youth of our two societies. Whether it is by hackathons or exchanges or sports, such bonding would serve us both well.

Let me turn to India-European Union relations. As you are all aware, we concluded a Free Trade Agreement, Security and Defence Partnership and a mobility framework in January this year. Together, these have the potential of transforming the quality of our cooperation. Obviously, the economic opportunities will be explored by each EU member state individually. I take this occasion to invite our partners from Bulgaria to undertake such initiatives in India, just as our businesses will be doing here.

Friends, we all recognize that the world is passing through an exceptionally volatile and uncertain phase. This includes multiple major conflicts, concerns about economic security, the recent experience of a pandemic and the recurring threat of terrorism. India has a clear position in respect to all of them.

We believe that this is not an era of war. The only solution to conflicts is dialogue and diplomacy. Where economic risks are concerned, the answer is in supply chain resilience and in further diversification. It is particularly important that maritime trade is neither impeded nor endangered. On behalf of the Global South, India has also repeatedly underlined concerns of energy, food and fertilizer security. On health security, the Covid period demonstrated the need for deeper international cooperation, I am sure between India and Bulgaria as well. As for terrorism, the world must be clear on zero-tolerance. On all these issues, there was a meeting of minds between India and Bulgaria.

So let me conclude by thanking my counterpart for the warm and generous and gracious hospitality that my delegation and I received today. I look forward to continuing our conversations in New Delhi, as indeed on the sidelines of multilateral events.

Sofia
June 10, 2026