site.btaBulgarian Prime Minister Leaves on Official Visit to Iran

Bulgarian Prime Minister Leaves on Official Visit to Iran

Sofia, July 10 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov leaves on an official visit to Iran until July 12, the Government Information Service said Sunday. On the Bulgarian delegation are Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov, Transport, IT and Communications Minister Ivaylo Moskovski, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, Agriculture and Food Minister Dessislava Taneva, and Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova.

During his visit to Tehran, Prime Minister Borissov will hold meetings with First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Also on the agenda of the visit is the signing of bilateral documents on cooperation, as well as meetings between the ministers on the Bulgarian delegation and their Iranian counterparts, the Government Information Service said.

Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov will also be on the delegation to Iran, his ministry reported. He is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Invest Bulgaria Agency and the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance, and a memorandum of understanding between the Bulgarian SMEs Promotion Agency and the Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization. Petrov will also address the participants in a Bulgarian-Iranian business forum.

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Bulgaria established diplomatic relations with Iran at the level of diplomatic agencies on November 15, 1897. Iran was the first Asian country to recognize Bulgaria's independence. The diplomatic relations were severed in 1941, restored on December 16, 1961 at legation level, and promoted to embassy level on August 17, 1964.

The bilateral relations since 1998 are at the level of parliaments and ministers. A series of agreements exist between the two countries, such as the Agreement on the Establishment of a Bulgarian-Iranian Business Council, signed in Sofia in 2004. Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov's visit to Iran in December 2015 was the first official visit of a Bulgarian foreign minister to this country in the last 12 years. The two sides signed a Programme for Exchange in Culture, Science, Education, Sports and the Media between the Governments of Bulgaria and Iran until 2018.

Statistical data show that from 2004 to 2014, the bilateral trade grew more than ten-fold from 14.3 million US dollars to 166.2 million dollars. Bulgaria's exports increased from 11.9 million to 123.9 million dollars, and imports from Iran grew from 2.4 million to 42.3 million dollars. In 2015, the bilateral trade turnover retained its high levels reaching 155.2 million dollars, of which 139.6 million dollars came from Bulgarian exports and 15.6 million dollars from Iranian imports.

According to statistics of the Bulgarian National Bank, from 1996 to 2014 Iranian investments in Bulgaria amounted to 3.4 million euro. Data show that 118 companies with Iranian participation are registered in Bulgaria, mostly in the sphere of trade and services.

Economy Ministry's data for 2007-2014 show that the highest number of Bulgarians visited Iran in 2009 (820 persons), and the smallest number in 2012 (62 persons). During this period, the most significant number of Iranian visitors to Bulgaria -15,565 persons - was observed in 2014, and the least significant - 4,333 persons - in 2007.