“The Balkans sees developments which are different from the old claim that the region is a “powder keg”, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said as he opened the Plovdiv Economic Forum.

“Bulgaria and Macedonia showed will, Greece and Macedonia showed will, Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic shook hands,” Borissov went on to say. He stressed that the Balkans develops thanks to the efforts of all countries.

In this regard he commented road infrastructure which is “equally important for Greece, Romania and the Western Balkan countries.” As an example Borissov pointed to the transport links allowing time-saving trips from Plovdiv to Thessaloniki, Corridor VIII connecting Sofia, Skopje and Tirana and Corridor X from Istanbul via Plovdiv and Sofia to Ljubljana and Bratislava. “All this benefits businesses,” Boyko Borissov said.