On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Bulgaria, the two leaders exchanged congratulatory messages.

In his message, the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, greeting the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev over the memorable date, underscored: "The high-level bilateral political dialogue and cooperation in various areas of mutual interest are highly commendable. I would like to express the respect of the Bulgarian side to the efforts being carried out under Your leadership aimed at establishing constructive dialogue in the Central Asian region."

President Rumen Radev stressed that "the Republic of Bulgaria positively assesses the deepening relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the European Union, a testimony of which is the entry into force on 1 July 2017 of the Textile Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. I am convinced that this will provide new opportunities for the development of relations between our two countries and will open new horizons for expansion and utilization of the potential for economic ties. "

Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his message particularly noted: "We highly appreciate that Bulgaria was among the first to recognize Uzbekistan’s independence and firmly supported the sovereignty of our state."

He emphasized that "over the past period, good and constructive relations based on friendship and mutual understanding have been established between the two countries."

"We are deeply convinced that there is a significant potential and wide opportunities for steady expansion of the Uzbek-Bulgarian partnership ties," the message said.

The President of Uzbekistan expressed his confidence that "the upcoming summit meetings will give new momentum to bilateral ties, will facilitate the expansion and deepening of mutually beneficial and long-term relations between our countries, filling them with concrete practical content."