Bulgaria Moves to Build Hospital in Afghanistan's Kabul

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (left) has welcomed his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev (right) who arrived in Kabul Wednesday on a surprise visit. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has declared Bulgaria's interest in building a hospital in Afghanistan's capital during his surprise visit to Kabul on Wednesday.

According to the Bulgarian Presidency, Plevneliev has expressed Bulgaria's desire to build a hospital in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, and the Afghan authorities have promised to provide the land.

The construction of the future Bulgarian hospital will be part of the bilateral business initiatives that Plevneliev discussed with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

Plevneliev has also told Karzai he is to encourage Bulgarian companies to work more actively with Afghanistan, and that the last few months have seen rising interest among Bulgarian firms wishing to do business with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has expressed interest in sending Afghan students to Bulgarian universities to study medicine, architecture, and engineering, and the Bulgarian President has vowed support for that.