Bulgaria's foreign policy priorities were discussed at a meeting between President Petar Stoyanov and 36 Bulgarian ambassadors and representatives of international organizations.

Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg and Foreign Minister Solomon Passi also attended the talks.

Bulgarian foreign policy was one of continuity and predictability, for which it was appreciated both at home and abroad, said Stoyanov. This very meeting was a sign of continuity, he added.

Among the key issues that had to be resolved within a year were the long-term priority of Bulgaria's EU accession, the task to have Bulgaria invited to join NATO in Prague in 2002, Bulgaria's approval for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in October 2001, and its election for Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in December 2001.

The agenda also included the situation in Macedonia and its implications for Bulgaria, the trial of six Bulgarian medics in Libya, and the attitude of the Bulgarian state towards Bulgarian citizens abroad.

Last Friday Passi met with the NATO countries' ambassadors to Bulgaria and presented Bulgaria's NATO membership invitation in 2002 as the country's top foreign policy priority. Ambassador Theo Six of the Netherlands pledged the NATO member countries' full support for that goal.

At a meeting with the EU countries' ambassadors to Bulgaria on Monday, Passi presented Bulgaria's EU membership as the country's long-term strategic foreign policy priority. According to Belgian Ambassador Edmond de Wilde, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, Bulgaria had already achieved great progress in this direction.