B&R offers new platform for Bulgaria-China cooperation

The Belt and Road Initiative provides a higher and broader platform for Bulgaria-China cooperation, and Bulgaria is willing to actively take part in projects related to the initiative and strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, Bulgarian Ambassador to China Grigor Porozhanov said in an interview with China Radio International.

China and Bulgaria agreed to establish an all-round friendly cooperative partnership in January 2014. From then on, bilateral ties and economic and trade cooperation have moved forward steadily.

Porozhanov sees the Belt and Road construction as a new opportunity to lift bilateral cooperation to a new level.

He welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Bulgaria, especially in infrastructure construction.

He said the initiative creates great opportunities for small and medium-sized Bulgarian enterprises to enter the Chinese market, noting that Bulgaria boasts huge advantages in such sectors as agriculture, wine, dairy products and horticulture.

Porozhanov said Bulgarians had deep understanding of the core idea of the Belt and Road Initiative, which means more than economic and trade cooperation, as it involves all-round cooperation in various fields including economy, culture, education, tourism and people-to-people bonds.

He described it as a great blueprint benefitting countries along the routes and promoting sharing of the fruits of development.

China and Bulgaria signed a bilateral cultural cooperation agreement covering the period 2017-2020 last September.

The ambassador believed cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges, especially among the young people, could lay a solid foundation for economic and trade cooperation. 

He hoped more and more Chinese people could visit his country to experience its rich tourism resources, saying Bulgaria planned to simplify the visa-application procedures for Chinese nationals, and continue to facilitate the entry of Chinese citizens holding a valid Schengen visa.