site.btaBulgaria-Iran Talks on Natural Gas Held in Sofia

Bulgaria-Iran Talks on Natural Gas Held in Sofia

Sofia, April 15 (BTA) - Bulgaria's cooperation with Iran in the natural gas industry topped the agenda of a meeting between Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova and Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Vice President Farhad Sharif, held in Sofia on Friday, Petkova's ministry reported.

According to the ministerial press release, Bulgaria views Iran as a potential source of natural gas for a future gas hub which was presented during the 18th session of the Bulgaria-Iran Economic Commission in Tehran in March. Over the short term, it is possible for Iran to supply compressed natural gas from Iran to Bulgaria via the Georgian port of Poti and the Black Sea.

Over the long term, supplies can be delivered via LNG terminals or new gas pipelines. In this context, Petkova updated Sharif on the state of play of the projects for building gas interconnectors between Bulgaria and its neighbours and the country's prospects to share in the construction of an LNG terminal in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.

Sharif said LNG supplies have the biggest potential. He predicted that in the more distant future it will be possible to build a mini LNG complex in Bulgaria to supply natural gas to Europe.

Bulgaria and Iran will reactivate the working groups on energy and natural gas in the framework of the bilateral Economic Commission, the press release said.

On Thursday, meeting with ICCIMA President Mohsen Jalalpour, Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov said that developing mutually advantageous trade and economic relations with Iran is an important component of Bulgaria's foreign economic policy in the Asian region.

Petrov stressed that now that the sanctions on Iran have been lifted, there are conditions to fully tap the potential of bilateral relations and exchange business delegations.

Bulgarian businesses are showing growing interest in establishing contacts with Iranian partners. The sectors with a potential for closer trade cooperation with Iran include the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, the manufacture of components for the automotive industry and information technology, said Petrov.

For his part, Jalalpour said Iranian business is strongly interested in cooperation in transport, energy, tourism, trade and the joint manufacture of commodities. Iran will be a centre of stability in the region in the coming years, and due to its strategic location Bulgaria can turn into a gateway to Europe for Iran.

At present, trade is the number one form of economic relations between Bulgaria and Iran. Two-way trade increased substantially in 2014 to 166.2 million US dollars, with Bulgarian exports growing 130 per cent from 2013 to 123.9 million dollars. In 2015, two-way trade was comparatively strong at 155.2 million dollars, of which 139.6 million dollars in Bulgarian exports to Iran.