Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezersaid on Tuesday that Bulgaria has become a country that contributes to peace and stability in the Balkans, semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported.

After meeting with the visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov in Ankara, Sezer said, "Our friendly and neighboring Bulgaria has become a country that contributes to peace and stability in the Balkans."

"The reforms Bulgaria has made in the past 15 years have made Bulgaria an important part of the Euro-Atlantic alliance. I congratulate President Purvanov and the Bulgarian people for signing the Accession Agreement to the EU on April 25, 2005. This historical step will bring our countries closer to each other," Sezer said.

"With a total annual trade volume of 1.8 billion US dollars, Bulgaria is Turkey's second biggest trade partner in the Balkans. Turkey is also the biggest investor in Bulgaria," added Sezer.

For his part, Purvanov said that Turkey and Bulgaria have excellent dialog.

"To this day, our dialog has not been better than it is now. We expect our annual trade volume to reach 2 billion US dollars soon,"said Purvanov.

He added that a new border crossing will be opened between Turkey and Bulgaria in the near future.

Purvanov, who arrived in Turkey on Tuesday, returned to Bulgariaafter meeting with Sezer.