Bulgarian President Greets Turkish Counterpart in Sofia

From left to right: Hayrunnisa Gul, Abdullah Gul, Georgi Parvanov and Bulgaria's First Lady, Zorka Parvanova, seen in Sofia, July 11, 2011. Photo by BGNES

Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, and First Lady, Hayrunnisa Gul, have arrived in Sofia for their official two-day visit.

The visit of the Turkish Head of State is on the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Parvanov and is his first one the since he stepped in office in 2007.

The two are scheduled to close the Bulgarian-Turkish business forum, which is held in Sofia in the frame of the visit.

At the forum, the President of the Turkish-Bulgarian Business Council, Yalcin Egemen, stated that there is real potential for the trade between the two countries to reach USD 10 B. Over 50 Turkish companies are taking part in the event.

Egemen pointed out that in 2011 the trade is expected to be USD 4 B. Data of the Bulgarian Investment Agency ranks Turkey 19th by the amount invested in the country, with the latter expected to grow.

The Turkish business requested once again assistance in lifting the visa regime and improving conditions at the border to ease the passing of Turkish trucks.

SPA tourism and residential construction were listed among the sectors with potential for partnership.

Meanwhile Parvanov and Gul met behind closed doors to also discuss possible expansion of economic and trade partnership. They are to hold a press conference upon the meeting's conclusion.

In addition to Parvanov, Gul will meet with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, the Chief Mufti, Mustafa Alish Hadzhi, and the Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Bulgarian-Turkish Friendship, Ramadan Atalay from the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms.

The agenda further includes a visit of the "Saint Nedelya" subway station in downtown Sofia, which is now under construction and the nearby ancient Serdika archeology site.

During the second day of the visit Gul will travel to the ancient Bulgarian capital Pliska and the city of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria.

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