site.btaUPDATED Rumen Radev Meets with Bulgarian Community in Singapore

During his meeting with the Bulgarian community in Singapore, part of his official visit to the country, President Rumen Radev said that in Bulgaria manages to establish and develop successful economic cooperation with Singapore, establishing an embassy will be a natural next step. After his visit to Singapore, Radev will leve for Vietnam on November 24.

"Our diaspora in Singapore occupies a very special place among the Bulgarian communities abroad, because it is the most highly educated diaspora. There are leading specialists here in their fields, starting with finance, information technology, high technology, business, culture and sports," President radev said at the meeting.

Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Singapore were established on November 21, 1967. In 1970, Bulgaria opened a diplomatic office in Singapore, headed by a caretaker governor. In the 1971-1973 period , the Bulgarian Ambassador to Japan was accredited to Singapore, and from 1974 to 1980 this function was carried out by the Bulgarian Ambassador to India. From 1980 to the present, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Indonesia has been accredited to Singapore. Until November 9, 1989, the Ambassador of Singapore to Moscow was also accredited to Bulgaria. Since then, there has been no accredited Ambassador of Singapore to Bulgaria. Currently, Singapore maintains a small number of diplomatic missions abroad and currently there is no ambassador accredited to Bulgaria. In 2022, Bulgaria and Singapore marked 55 years since establishing diplomatic relations.

During the meeting, the Bulgarian community presented its problems, including the lack of an embassy, inquiries about how Bulgaria can help Bulgarian communities abroad and whether it is possible to receive financial support for opening a Bulgarian Sunday school in Singapore. According to unofficial information, the Bulgarians in Singapore number about 400 people.

"Bulgaria's presence in Southeast Asia is limited - we only have embassies in Jakarta and Hanoi," noted Rumen Radev. "It is extremely important that we manage to create a direct airline between Singapore and Sofia. This will be a powerful impetus for the development of our relations. explained the head of State, noting that turnover between the two countries in the last year was USD 186 million. 

Regarding mobile consular services, the President pointed out that such equipment is already provided and the issue of its transportation remains to be advanced. Radev noted that there are some adiminstartive steps to be taken in order to develop consular services and take steps towards opening a Sunday school.
Radev expressed gratitute to the Bulgarian comminty in Singapore for voting regularly, but noted that elections have been to coommon as of late. "You all expect a stable, regular government, which, in addition to inter-party and internal problems, will pay much greater attention to the Bulgarian community abroad. We are counting on you or your children to return one day to Bulgaria, so that this model of prosperous economy and social relations can be transferred to Bulgaria," commented the President.

The main factor for Singapore's success is education, the President pointed out, adding that in the first ten years of the establishment of the State, it allocated 1/3 of its budget to education.

"I understand perfectly well what it means to succeed here, in this highly competitive environment that attracts the best specialists from all over the world. I am extremely happy about your success, because it is not just your personal one, but also a success for Bulgaria," commented Radev.

In Singapore, the President was accompanied by representatives of Bulgarian businesses from the fields of information and high technologies, defence, the automotive sector, engineering, etc. The delegation he led also included ministers of the caretaker government: Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov, Innovation and Growth Minister Rosen Karadimov, and Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev, as well as mayors of Bulgarian municipalities. The President was also accompanied by his wife Desislava Radeva.

Singapore has a population of just over six million people. The country's territory is 735 sq. km. Singapore is a parliamentary republic. The head of State is the president, elected by direct elections for a term of six years with the right to be re-elected an unlimited number of times. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam took. office on 14 September 2023.