Bulgarian presidency in the Three Seas Initiative

04 February 2021

During the Three Seas Initiative summit in Tallin, held on 19th October 2020, the Republic of Bulgaria, represented by the President Rumen Radev, officially took over the presidency in the Initiative. Apart from the President of Bulgaria, President of the Republic of Poland also participated in the summit. Representatives of other countries took part in the event remotely.

Due to the Bulgarian presidency, the upcoming summit of the Three Seas Initiative will be held in June 2021 in Sofia. Originally, there were some arguments to postpone the summit to 2022 due to election in this country, but finally a decision was taken to organise it in 2021. As part of preparation for the summit, at the end of January, there was held an online working meeting on the level of administration of presidents and foreign affairs ministries from the states of the Three Seas Initiative. Earlier on, there had been a videoconference of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Vice-minister for foreign affairs of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zaharievej with the Coordinator of the Government of the Republic of Poland for the Three Seas Initiative Paweł Jabłoński.

Participation in the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund is of great importance to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Development Bank contributed EUR 20 million to the Fund. The Bulgarian government is mainly interested in infrastructure projects, such as reconstruction of the Ruse-Varna railway line or investments on the route of the IV Pan-European Transport Corridor.

During the summit in Tallin, President Radev declared that the Bulgarian presidency will propose new areas of cooperation within the Three Seas Initiative, in particular science and education connectivity. He highlighted that infrastructure investments are not enough to develop economy if they are not related to cooperation with researchers, scientists and universities. New topics will be dealt with along with cooperation fields defined earlier on, such as the above mentioned transport and energy infrastructure and digital connectivity.

“Bulgaria will continue further on the ambitious path of releasing the capacity of the Initiative as a genuine tool for regional cooperation and accelerated development of our region through improving the energy, transport and digital connectivity”

President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev

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About the Three Seas Initiative in Davos

23 January 2026

About the Three Seas Initiative in Davos

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23 January 2026

Polish President Karol Nawrocki emphasized in Davos the strategic importance of the Three Seas Initiative as a key platform for infrastructural, economic, and geopolitical cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The opening speech of the panel „Three Seas Initiative: geostrategic business opportunities – a bridge to the future – from the Adriatic, the Baltic, the Black Sea to Asia” took place as part of the Leaders Forum powered by Poland during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Former polish president Andrzej Duda participated as well.

President Nawrocki noted that over the course of a decade the Three Seas Initiative has evolved from a political concept into a mature cooperation mechanism that has tangible impact on the regional development.

“Ten years ago, the Three Seas Initiative began as an idea. Up until today it has evolved into a strategic framework for regional transformation, and alliance of innovation and infrastructure, and a symbol of Central and South-Eastern Europe’s maturity and confidence on the world stage” – told the President.

In his address the President also emphasized the strong transatlantic anchoring of the Three Seas Initiative. He stressed that from the very beginning, the Initiative was conceived as an open project, strengthening cooperation between the European Union and partners outside Europe, particularly the United States. In this context, the Three Seas Initiative was presented as a “bridge” connecting a dynamically developing region with global capital, technology, and markets.

” The Three Seas Initiative has never been an inward-looking project (…) it has been strategically anchored in the transatlantic partnership that unites Europe and North America”.

The President drew attention to the geostrategic dimension of cooperation within the Three Seas region in the face of global challenges such as geopolitical instability, pressure on supply chains, and competition for resources. He pointed out that the development of modern infrastructure and the deepening of economic cooperation constitute the foundation of security and long-term growth.

The speech also had a strong economic dimension. The President of Poland underlined Poland’s ambitions to strengthen its position in the global economy and its aspirations to join the G20, highlighting the growing role of the Three Seas region as one of the engines of growth in Europe. At the same time, he invited international investors to actively participate in projects implemented under the framework of the Initiative.

During the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Karol Nawrocki also met with President of the United States Donald Trump. The main topics of their talks were security and economic issues.

THE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH IS AVAILABLE HERE

Photo credit: © Mikołaj Bujak/KPRP, Source: https://www.prezydent.pl/aktualnosci/wizyty-zagraniczne/prezydent-w-davos-o-inicjatywie-trojmorza,113783