Deputy Minister Angelina Boneva discussed regionally significant initiatives with the State Secretary for Local Government and Regional Development of Norway Ule Gustav Narud

Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Angelina Boneva discussed the opportunities for the development of bilateral relations in the field of regional development and territorial cooperation with the Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Norway Ule Gustav Narud on a working visit to the country. During the meeting, the two also discussed the cooperation under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, which they highly appreciated, and the established sectoral links between the two countries and their potential to be built upon in the next programming period. The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works is successfully implementing the project “Bulgarian Cross-Border Dialogue Version 2”, funded under the Bilateral Fund of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.

Deputy Minister Boneva and the accompanying team of experts from the Directorate “Territorial Cooperation Management” presented to the Norwegian side the results achieved by Bulgaria in the field of cross-border cooperation within the EU and with the neighboring EU countries, for which our country is a leader.  From the Norwegian side, the trends and peculiarities in regional development policies and municipal financing models were presented, emphasizing the importance of sustainable and balanced territorial development of regions, regardless of their distance from the main growth centres.

Angelina Boneva briefed State Secretary Narud on the reforms in the field of regional investments in Bulgaria, the preparations for OECD membership in the area. She also presented the achievements of Bulgaria's accession to the investment opportunities under the Just Transition Fund at the end of 2023. The challenges faced by Bulgarian regions, especially remote and sparsely populated regions, were shared, as well as the opportunities for building on the cooperation under the Bilateral Fund of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

The meeting made it clear that a key objective of the Norwegian government, enshrined in the regional policy, is to provide citizens with equal access to education, jobs and public services in all local communities across the country. Ensuring good living conditions, the protection of a clean natural environment, the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the fundamental principles of freedom and equal opportunities regardless of location are at the heart of Norway's regional development policy.