site.btaChinese PM: Bulgaria Is A Factor on the Balkans

Chinese PM: Bulgaria Is A Factor on the Balkans

Riga, November 5 (BTA) - Bulgaria has emerged over the past few years as a serious factor on the Balkans and that is why it is proposed that one of the next China/CEE summits is held in Sofia, the press office of the Bulgarian government quoted Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang as saying at the annual summit of the heads of the governments of China and 16 central and eastern European countries underway in Riga.

At the summit, Li Keqiang met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, thanking him for attending the event at a time when his country is holding presidential elections. "I would not have missed this summit because I believe that over the past four years the 16+1 framework has proven to be a very fruitful and useful mechanism for interaction between China and central and eastern Europe. In Bulgaria, following the 2015 summit, we have already witnessed concrete results from our cooperation," Borissov said.

Bulgaria is holding presidential elections on November 6.

The two heads of government focused on the opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, transport and infrastructure, among others. Li Keqiang noted an increase in the presence of Bulgarian goods on the Chinese market and said he sees great potential for the export of essential oils, rose oil in particular, of agricultural and food products - milk and dairy products, meat, tobacco, etc. "We are counting on the Chinese authorities to help speed up the procedures for the import into China of Bulgarian agricultural and food products in order to accelerate and improve bilateral trade," Borissov said.

"China is a top-tier partner for us. Industrial manufacturing is another important sector where our interests could intersect. Chinese investors in Bulgaria are on the rise and we would like to attract more companies to do business here because we traditionally have the edge in sectors like machine-building, electronics and electrical engineering, IT and communication technology, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food production. We are counting on the Chinese authorities to encourage Chinese firms to invest in Bulgaria," Borissov said.

Li Keqiang, who received an invitation to pay an official visit to Bulgaria, voiced his satisfaction with Sofia's successful hosting of the summit of capital city mayors in September and with the work of the Centre for Agricultural Cooperation of the 16+1 in Bulgaria.