Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House today. Defense and security co-operation, energy diversification, foreign influence in Bulgaria and Black Sea security are among the topics expected to dominate the talks. The meeting between Prime Minister Borisov and President Trump in the Oval Office is scheduled for 2pm local time /9pm Bulgarian time/.

The Prime Minister will confirm Bulgaria’s commitment made at the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales to achieve a defense budget of 2% of GDP - one of US President Donald Trump's key demands for allies from Europe. Bulgaria already allocates 3% of GDP to defense. The press service of the Bulgarian government writes that the agreement for purchasing US F-16 fighter jets for the Bulgarian army will bring positive economic effects to Bulgaria. The White House announced that the meeting would also discuss security in the Black Sea. Talking to journalists on the plane, PM Boyko Borisov said his position when it came to militarization of the Black Sea remained unchanged, as Bulgaria had no interest in the militarization of the Black Sea. In the field of energy, possibilities for import of liquefied gas will be discussed. The PM also plans to highlight the benefits of the Balkan Stream project, the Balkan gas distribution center, and the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector.

The Bulgarian delegation will have meetings at the American Chamber of Commerce with representatives of 15 companies that have shown interest in Bulgaria, including giants Google, AT&T and Microsoft.