Iliana Yotova elected Bulgarian president; Azerbaijan ties and gas links in focus

Bulgaria's Central Election Commission has announced the final results of the second round of the presidential election held on November 1. Iliana Yotova won with 1,093,852 votes, or 57.566 percent, becoming the first woman elected president of Bulgaria. She had previously served as acting head of state after Rumen Radev stepped down.

In a commentary published by Day.az, author Akper Hasanov says Yotova's election carries particular significance for Azerbaijan, as she knows the country well and has repeatedly expressed interest in bilateral cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev sent her a congratulatory letter, expressing satisfaction with current relations between the two countries.

Energy is a central area of cooperation. During Yotova's visit to Baku on May 17, the two sides discussed increasing Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe via Bulgaria and the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector. Electricity exports, agriculture and tourism were also discussed. The article also cites the Ring of Solidarity project and the twinning of Veliko Tarnovo with Shusha.