Sofia, 8 July 2021 (BTA/MIA) – The Sixth annual Summit of the Three Seas Initiative is taking place in Sofia on Thursday and Friday. The event is accompanied by a business forum, to be attended by over 400 Bulgarian and foreign business executives. In a video address at the opening of the event, US President Joe Biden expressed the United States’ strong support for the initiative. “There is incredible potential for increasing cooperation and connectivity among this group. That will enhance the security and prosperity of the region and, quite frankly, benefit the world. The United States will be your unfailing partner at every step,” he told the participants in the forum. “We share your commitment to continue to improve your integration and regional inner connections. This can tie you even closer to the European institutions, completing a long-held goal of a Europe whole, free and at piece,” he said. “Together we look forward to proving how democracies can lead with their values and deliver for the needs of their people, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, building more resilient and more equitable economies, investing in high-standard infrastructure in a way that is transparent, including through the Build Back Better World initiative, and rooting out corruption that robs too many nations of the chance to succeed,” Biden said. “By working together, you will also strengthen your sovereignty, promote energy security and make sure all of the region’s citizens have a change to compete and succeed in the 21st century economy. I look forward to working closely with all of you, to build a safer, stronger world, one where coercion and threats are not used to bully and where disinformation and cyberattacks are not used to manipulate. We can do it if we do it together,” Biden told the forum.