Bulgarian Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev visits Tirana, urges stronger ties between countries

TIRANA, Sept.29- Visiting Bulgarian Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev has brought new proposals for increased economic cooperation and transportation links between the two countries while meeting with officials in Tirana.
Albania and Bulgaria would co-operate on air navigation services, Emanuil Radev, director of Air Traffic Services Authority (ATSA) said on the second day of Transport and Communications Minster Petar Moutafchiev’s visit to Tirana. The two countries are part of an ongoing initiative from the European Commission (EC) to unify air navigation services in South-East Europe. The initiative seeks to decrease financial losses due to fragmentation in air navigation in the region. Partners in the initiative were Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, Montenegro, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, Eurocontrol and NATO. The Bulgarian representatives were from the Transport Ministry’s Civil Aviation Administration and ATSA. Bulgaria and Albania would also cooperate on staff training.
Bulgarian Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev and his delegation visited Durres port on the second day of his official visit to Albania. Durres is one of four ports in the line of trans-European Corridor N8. The Bulgarian minister met with his counterpart, Sokol Oldashi, and it became clear that there is a project for an alternative route between Durres and Skopje that will be 100km shorter than the present one. Durres has strategic importance for the gas pipeline on the Bulgaria-Macedonia-Albania-Italy route.
Bulgaria Air Company will also open the second regular air route between Sofia and Tirana, a representative of the company in Tirana, Anton Bonev, announced. According to Bonev opening the new air route will meet the requirements of the market.