PM Mitsotakis receives Bulgarian counterpart Nikolai Denkov

In statements as he greeted Denkov, Mitsotakis referred to the devastating forest fires burning in Greece, thanking him for offering his country's help and expressing gratitude for the international assistance to Greece during a difficult time.

"These are the consequences, unfortunately, the real consequences of climate change. We have another difficult summer ahead of us but we are doing the best we can," Mitsotakis said.

Addressing his Bulgarian counterpart, the prime minister said Greece greatly appreciated Bulgaria's support, "which is proof of the excellent level of our bilateral relations" and said there were many issues to discuss.

"We consider Bulgaria a strategic partner of Greece. We have many issues on which we can work together and I am certain that we will discuss them in much greater detail, starting with our European agenda and continuing with our cooperation in energy, infrastructure and transport," Mitsotakis said.

He also pointed out that Bulgaria is an "important economic partner for Greece, a big market for our exports and an important destination for Greek foreign direct investments but also a country that we feel close to on a cultural level," while he highlighted the large numbers of Bulgarian visitors to Greece each summer and welcomed Denkov as a "friend of Greece".

The Bulgarian premier, on his part, agreed that there was a "lot of work to do but, thankfully, our work is based on very solid foundations, because our relations are truly excellent." He pointed to a great many mutual interests of the two countries, while noting that the security of NATO's east wing was another important area of cooperation.

Commenting that he had come to Greece with a "strong team" in order to discuss a number of specific projects in each of the areas mentioned above, Denkov said he had found there was very active cooperation with Greece in all of them, which the two sides "can continue at a very rapid pace".

During a meeting involving the delegations of the two sides there was a discussion on the prospects of boosting trade and economic relations, an exchange of views on cooperation in energy, transport and connectivity, a discussion on European issues, such as migration, and on Bulgaria's participation in the 2023 Thessaloniki International Fair as honoured country.