Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov met with Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit on July 22 2010 at the Presidency building, praising the relationship between Bulgaria and Germany, which he described as 'ideal', the President's press office said in a media statement.

This was attributed to the "active and constructive political dialogue at all levels, presidential, between governments, municipal, as well as the trade and economic exchange between the two nations ". Purvanov said that it was always a priority for Bulgaria to develop its cooperation with Germany on both federal and municipal levels.

For his part, Wowereit said that the relations between Sofia and Berlin would continue to strengthen further through new joint projects. He spoke of new potential spheres of German investment in Sofia, such as renovation of buildings, public transport, as well as future mutual cooperation in European Union-financed programmes.

"More than 50 per cent of the European population lives in an urban environment. That’s why European capitals need European Union financing," Wowereit said.

As part of his his two-day official visit, Wowereit also met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, and his counterpart, Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

Borissov praised Wowereit as one of the most respected politicians in Germany and described their meeting as 'significant' ahead of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Bulgaria on October 12.

Wowereit is a member of the Social Democratic Party and has been the mayor of Berlin since the 2001 state elections, when his party won a plurality of the votes, with 29.7 per cent, winning his re-election bid in 2006. Previously, he served as president of the Bundesrat in 2001/02.