Bulgaria President Starts Brow-Raising Australia Visit

President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov (C) inspects the guard of honour on his arrival in Canberra, Australia, 28 October 2009. Parvanov is on a state visit to Australia and will meet Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 30 October. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov has arrived on his first visit to Australia, harshly criticized at home over its huge costs.

The visit is at the invitation of Quentin Bryce, Australia Governor-General, and comes after President Parvanov went to South Korea.

The president is scheduled to meet on Wednesday representatives of the Bulgarian community in Australia, which numbers about 12, 000 people. On the next day he will confer with Quentin Bryce, the chairmen of the Senate and the House of Represenatives, as well as with opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull.

Right before the president embarked on the impressive tour, the rightist ‘Blue Coalition’ called on him to cancel his planned visit to Australia and New Zealand over the financial crisis.

Blue Coalition MP Asen Agov said Thursday that; "our research shows that the transport costs of the presidential delegation will be about BGN 500 000”.

“The country is in crisis and it is appropriate for the President of the Republic to set an example by reducing his expenditure like the government is reducing costs in all other departments,“ Agov said.

Data shows that Bulgaria's trade exchange with Australia and New Zealand for 2007 is the equivalent of USD 28,9 M, and USD 4 M respectively.

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