SA strengthens relations with Europe

“Bulgaria is one of the new members of the European Union (EU) and is historically seen as the gateway to eastern Europe,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad, on Friday 14 March, adding that the country is also known to be one of the stabilising countries in the Balkans.

Following a meeting with his counterpart, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Feim Chaushev, Pahad said Bulgaria declared South Africa as a strategic partner.

“The Bulgarian government has taken a decision to increase its activities on the African continent, and we welcome this, as thousands of students from Africa and Sub Saharan Africa have studied in Bulgaria.

“Our economic relations, percentage wise, have increased quite remarkably and now stands at about R500 million,” said Pahad.

South Africa and Bulgaria agreed to cooperate in areas including energy, transport, infrastructure development, health and most importantly agriculture; however, Pahad said there was even more potential to be unlocked.

Bulgaria also expressed interest in getting involved in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD); and has expertise in many areas that can be beneficial in terms of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA).

“We identified some fields in which we can increase cooperation such as energy, agriculture, health ... and Bulgaria will also be sending experts in the field of energy to help South Africa solve its [electricity] problems,” said Chaushev.

Trade relations between the two countries total some R500 million and both minister agreed much can be done to increase this figure. Pahad urged the private sector to take advantage of markets in country's such as Bulgaria.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews