Minister Väyrynen met with Bulgarian leaders

During his trip to Bulgaria, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen met on Monday, 3 September with Ivailo Kalfin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria; during their talk the two ministers compared regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions and possibilities to benefit from the EU’s neighbouring area policy.

The host of Minister Väyrynen’s visit to Bulgaria was Petar Dimitrov, Bulgaria’s new Minister of Economy and Energy, for whom the Finnish minister was the first foreign visitor. With National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski, Väyrynen discussed the possibilities of national parliaments to influence EU decision-making as well as cooperation between national parliaments and the European Parliament.

Minister Väyrynen’s first export promotion trip accompanied by a business delegation took place to Bulgaria on 3–4 September. On Wednesday, 5 September the minister’s trip continues to Romania. Travelling with the minister is a business delegation of more than 20 people, including representatives of the paper, defence, logistics, communications, metals, environment, finance and energy sectors. Tuomo Rönkkö, President and CEO of Eltel Networks Corporation, heads the business delegation.

When meeting with Bulgarian Minister of Finance Plamen Oresharski, Väyrynen raised the importance of implementing EU legislation with regard to the location of foreign companies. Oresharski related the incentives Bulgaria has to offer for Finnish investments. Väyrynen met on Tuesday with influential Bulgarian energy sector leaders at a lunch hosted by Ambassador Kauko Jämsen.

Strong ties from the 1800s

Aside from mutual interests, the strong ties between the two countries rose to the fore in all of the meetings that took place in Sofia. The surprisingly strong emotional bonds between Finland and Bulgaria date back as far as the 1800s, when Finns took part in liberating Bulgaria. More recently, emotional bonds have been strengthened by Finland’s efforts towards Bulgaria’s accession to membership of the EU.

Led by Minister Väyrynen, Finpro organised a business seminar in Sofia, where Bulgarians were introduced to the business delegation accompanying the minister. The number of Finnish companies represented as well as the interest raised by the seminar reflected the potential for cooperation in commerce and trade. The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to EU membership at the start of this year and the recent favourable development of these countries’ economies create a base for new trade and investment possibilities.

The Address by Minister Väyrynen at the Finland-Bulgaria Business Forum in Sofia(Link to another website.)