Bulgaria will host an international ministerial conference on Corridor 8 in Sofia on October 7 and 8, the government said after approving a decree to organize the forum.

Ministers, senior representatives of European and regional organizations, and experts from the countries and institutions involved are set to attend. They will review how far work on the corridor has come and look for ways to speed up each section. The meeting will also give officials a chance to hold political and expert talks, coordinate better between countries, and plan next steps.

Corridor 8 runs from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. The government says it can improve east-west infrastructure, and that the route also helps economic growth, energy links and security in the region.

Part of the road and rail route runs through Bulgaria, so the project ties directly into the country's transport links. The government expects finishing and upgrading the infrastructure to give Bulgaria better access to the Adriatic and the Western Balkans, and to strengthen its role as a transport and logistics hub in southeast Europe. Hosting the event in Sofia, it says, confirms Bulgaria as an active player in regional connections and gives political weight to work on the corridor.

Work on the last stretch of railway leading into Bulgaria, part of Corridor 8, is moving fast and is about 40% done. Sinisha Ivanovski, head of North Macedonia's railway infrastructure company, said this on September 18, BTA reported. The goal is to bring that stretch to 50% by the end of the year.