News from Bulgaria / Mar 18, 96

From: bulgaria@access1.digex.net (Embassy of Bulgaria)

Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Directory

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA - WASHINGTON D.C.

BTA - BULGARIAN TELEGRAPH AGENCY

18 March, 1996

CONTENTS

[01] BULGARIA, RUSSIA SIGN COOPERATION DOCUMENTS IN MOSCOW

Six documents on bilateral cooperation were signed following today's official talks between the Bulgarian and Russian government delegations. They include a memorandum on promoting cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, an intergovernmental accord on delivery of Russian tanks and armoured infantry fighting vehicles to Bulgaria, a convention between Bulgaria and the Russian Federation on cooperation in veterinary medicine, an accord on cooperation in forestry between the Bulgarian government and the Russian Forestry Service, an agreement between the two countries' Ministries of Agriculture on economic, scientific and technical cooperation in agriculture and the food processing industry, and a declaration on cooperation in the social sphere between the Bulgarian and Russian Labour Ministries.

Bulgarian Deputy Defence Minister Boris Radev told the BTA the agreement on supply of Russian combat equipment to Bulgaria envisages free delivery of 100 T-72 tanks and as much BMP-1P armoured infantry fighting vehicles, due in the second half of April.

The Russian delegation to the talks includes Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Shafranik, Finance Minister Vladimir Panskov, Atomic Energy Minister Prof. Viktor Mihailov, Gazprom CEO Rem Vyakhirev, Russian Chief of General Staff Mikhail Kolesnikov, Social Minister Genady Melikyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Krylov. At noon today the Bulgarian Prime Minister was received by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Later today Videnov and the delegation he heads are expected to return to Bulgaria.

[02] MEETING OF BULGARIAN, GREEK AND ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

The first item on the proposed agenda is the successful implementation of the Dayton Accords for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the three countries' contribution to the post-war social and economic reconstruction of the area. The foreign ministers will consider measures for activating economic cooperation within the framework of the European Union, the Central European Initiative and the Black Sea Cooperation process.

The participants will discuss the establishment of a transregional centre for the exchange of information and coordination of contacts concerning infrastructure projects the three countries are interested in. Mapping out measures for regional security in Southeastern Europe and undertaking joint efforts for the implementation of initiatives launched by the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are also on the agenda. Bulgaria expects support for its initiative for comprehensive contacts aimed to promote all-Balkan cooperation. Austria, Hungary and Slovakia will be invited to a meeting of foreign ministers of the six countries. Steps for the promotion of cooperation in the sphere of justice and the interior, as well as in the social and the cultural sphere.

The construcrtion of a second bridge across the Danube will be also among the topics of discussion.

The agreements reached on infrastructure projects, economic cooperation, foreign political matters and regional security will be stated in a joint communique of the three foreign ministers at the end of the meeting.

The Bulgarian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Pirinski, is composed of Nikolai Grigorov, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction; Konstantin Roussinov, Chairman of the Energy Committee; Lyubomir Kolarov, Chairman of the Committee of Posts and Telecommunications; Vladimir Kurpachev, Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation; Luchezar Lalov, Deputy Minister of Transport; Foreign Ministry experts and representatives of the business circles. Prime Minister Zhan Videnov is expected to receive the three foreign ministers on March 17.

[03] P.M. VIDENOV RECEIVES GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER

[04] BULGARIA, GREECE: DISTRICT COOPERATION

Haskovo, March 15 (BTA corr.) - Georgios Delios, Governor of the Greek district of Evros, and representatives of Mentor consultants and a bank today met with Angel Naidenov, Governor of Haskovo district, in this southern Bulgarian town. The sides discussed Bulgarian and Greek commitments in connection with the building of an industrial zone in Haskovo. The project will cost an estimated ECU 10 million, 75 per cent of which will come from the PHARE and INTERREG programmes. The remaining 25 per cent and a site for the industrial zone will be provided by Bulgaria. Delios's proposal for the building of an economic zone in Ormenion was also on the agenda. Bulgarian businessmen and workers will work in the Greek zone for industrial activity, Naidenov said after the meeting. In April an official delegation from Evros district will visit Haskovo again to sign a framework agreement on cultural, economic and environmental cooperation between the two neighbouring districts. The Greek side offered assistance in healthcare, especially the combating of AIDS and hepatitis.

[05] BULGARIA, GREECE SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION PROGRAMME

Sandanski, March 15 (BTA correspondent) - The Ministries of Defence and the General Staffs of Bulgaria and Greece today signed in Sandanski (southwestern Bulgaria) a seventy-point cooperation programme for 1996. The document was signed by the Chiefs of General Staffs of Bulgaria Colonel General Tsvetan Totomirov and Greece Colonel General Atanasios Dzoganis.

General Totomirov said Bulgarian-Greek meetings were traditional. Programmes for cooperation between the Defence Ministries and the armed forces are based on an agreement between the Defence Ministries signed in 1992. The 1996 programme envisions joint exercises on Greek and Bulgarian territory and territorial waters. The new element will be joint war games of special army units. The document provides for the exchange of experience among different-level officers, cooperation in social affairs, vacation visits by officers and their families, celebrations of Christian holidays, etc.

General Dzoganis observed this is his first visit to Bulgaria as Creek Chief of the General Staff. He took office on February 16. According to him, the fact his first visit abroad is to Bulgaria is indicative of the great importance he attributes to the promotion of Bulgarian-Greek military cooperation. The two senior officers expressed certainty the cooperation programme for 1996 will be carried out as successfully as that for 1995.

[06] FOREIGN MINISTERS OF BULGARIA, GREECE, ROMANIA DISCUSS ECONOMIC STABILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Summing up the results of the first day of the meeting, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Pantelei Karasimeonov stressed the significance that the three countries attach to the forum. They agreed that a consensus can turn it into a traditional event. Bulgaria and Romania brought to the fore the role Greece can play in its capacity as full EU member for the two countries' speedier integration into European structures. Greece, for its part, reiterated its support for Sofia and Bucharest in their European integration efforts.

Infrastructure projects were atop the meeting's agenda. The three Foreign Ministers shared the view that economic stability in Southeastern Europe is a precondition for a lasting stabilization of the region.

The Romanian side stressed the significance of railway transport, of upgrading motorways and increasing the traffic capacity of the Danube and sea transport.

The Bulgarian representatives identified an urgent need of reaching an agreement on the location of a second cross-Danubian bridge, all the more so that participating in the meeting were Romanian private construction companies interested in the project. The construction of a second bridge across the Danube to link Bulgaria and Romania is a problem the three countries share as it is part of Corridor IV from Northern to Southern Europe.

The sides were unanimous that work on the project at expert level should start as soon as possible, including meetings of the competent cabinet ministers of the three countries.

Greece and Romania pledged their support for Bulgaria's initiative to open a centre in Sofia for information exchange and coordination of the efforts on infrastructure projects.

Discussing international issues, the sides spoke in support of furthering the peace process in former Yugoslavia and implementing strictly the Dayton and Paris agreements.

The Foreign Ministers called for the use of all means to achieve a lasting stabilization of the Balkans. Theodoros Pangalos said with a greater stability this region could make a serious progress and missing this chance is inadmissible.

The Bulgarian delegation to the meeting is headed by Foreign Minister Pirinski and includes Deputy Minister of Construction and Regional Development Nikolai Grigorov, Energy Committee Chairman Konstantin Roussinov, Posts and Telecommunications Committee Chairman Lyubomir Kolarov, Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation Vladimir Kurpachev, Deputy Transport Minister Luchezar Lalov, Foreign Ministry experts and businessmen.

[07] BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS

Sofia, March 17 (BTA) - State-of-the-art construction technologies are shown at the sixth Stroiko exhibition of architecture, construction and furniture that is being held in Sofia March 14 through 20. Participating in the exhibition are over 200 companies with an ever increasing share of foreign participants from the United States, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Czech Republic. The sluggish legislative activity in construction is one of the stumbling blocks in this business, participants in the exhibition said. According to them, there should be a discussion to address the basic problem in this industry.

Novelties in the office equipment industry were on display at the Sofexpo 96 exhibition held on March 12 through 16 in Sofia. Exhibits were arranged in four sectors: Bulprint for polygraphic technologies, equipment and consumables; Bultel for communication systems, aerials and mobile phones; Bulorga for computers, software and office equipment; and Bulbank for banking equipment, safes and security systems. Participating in the exhibition were over 100 companies of Bulgaria, Germany, the United States, Japan France and Sweden, among other.

The Neftochim oil refinery of Bourgas, on the Black Sea, reduced its petrol output, said the local BTA correspondent. The step was necessitated by the piling of a sizable stock of this product. The daily output is now 18,000 tonnes which is way down the refinery's 24,000 tonne capacity.

The Montana-based Montana company signed contracts for export of 1,100 tonnes of yarn with partners of Italy, Greece, Poland and Hungary. Over 70% of Montana's output is export-oriented. An ever increasing share of the export goes to Algeria, Lebanon and other countries. Knitted wear produced at Montana go to Germany where it enjoys a good market, said CEO Zamfir Zamfirov.

A team of experts at a Shoumen, Northeaster Bulgaria, veterinary centre have launched an experiment for breeding chicken using no antibiotics and other chemical substances. The results have been sent for approval to the Sofia-based Institute for Control of Veterinary Medicines. The project is expected to be approved by year's end when the first organic chicken farms will offer chicken on the market.

The President of the Poli Stoev company, Prolet Stoeva was named 1995 Businesswomen. Prolet Stoeva is a designer and manages a private company for handmade knitted wear. The Businesswomen of the Year competition was organized for a fifth year in a row by the "Nie Zhenite" weekly. The Female Manager award went to Irena Komitova, CEO of Oriflame-Bulgaria, after the company she runs reported a ten-fold rise of sales within an year.

The number of German holiday makers in Bulgarian summer resorts this year is expected to go up by 5-9% from the 1995 level. Projections to that effect were made by a Bulgarian delegation that returned from the tourist exchange in Berlin. Holidays booked by the TUI touroperator rose 60% from the 1995 figure, by Hadsell 30% and by BG-tours by 5%.

German companies have undertaken to invest a total of DM 2.7 million for the reconstruction of two hotels in the Golden Sands Black Sea resort and turning them into club-hotels. Two more hotels of this type will be built in the Sunny Beach reports and three in Albena.

[08] P.M. VIDENOV INTERVIEWED

Zhan Videnov stressed that "there is a striking consensus in Russia on the paramount importance of relations with Bulgaria." "Businessmen, politicians, MPs and cabinet ministers alike are categorical about the significance relations with Bulgaria have in Russia's foreign policy," he said. According to him, Russia appreciates highly the success of a small country as Bulgaria to achieve a balance between diverse and sometimes conflicting international interests. "For Russia, Bulgaria today is a window to the European integration processes," the Prime Minister said.

Videnov said that during his Moscow visit the two countries made decisive steps toward settling problems that have existed in bilateral relations over the past years. He recalled the settlement of Russia's 100 million debt to Bulgaria, the protocol under which the customs regulations for Bulgarian goods in Russia will be equal with those enjoyed by Bulgaria's major rivals on the Russian market, the restored confidence in military-technological and military-scientific cooperation.

Videnov further dwelled on NATO's expansion to the east which he discussed with Russian President Yeltsin in Moscow. "Russia is against the idea of NATO's expansion itself. Bulgaria will surely participate most actively in the dialogue on this issue," the Prime Minister said adding that Bulgaria's possible entry into NATO is a separate question. "It is a question that Bulgaria will address on the basis of its sovereign understanding of national security, of the way in which it assesses all systems for collective security, the degree to which they protect its interests as well as the interests of the largest possible group of other countries, and the elimination of the possibility of creating new dividing lines between them," said Videnov.

The interviewee further discussed some foreign policy issues and the plenum that the ruling Socialists held last Sunday to review the first year in office of the government.

[09] TRILATERAL FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING. GREECE, BULGARIA TO SCHEDULE MEETING OF PMs

Varna, March 17 (BTA) - Meeting Bulgarian Prime Minister Zhan Videnov in Varna today, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos conveyed the hope and optimism of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis for a progress in bilateral relations. The sides are now expected to schedule a meeting between the two countries Heads of Government. The newly appointed Greek Foreign Minister yesterday met for the first time the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

Bulgaria and Greece are equally interested in the construction of an oil pipeline from Bourgas, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, to Alexandroupolis in Northern Greece, since it is of strategic importance. There is, though, one problem: how to provide the necessary financing and how to split the pipeline shares and the profit, Pangalos said last night in an interview for the Panorama weekly programme of the National TV. The Greek Foreign Minister reiterated the stand on this matter of Greece which believes that the Bulgarian and Greek state interest in the partnership to built and operate the pipeline should be a limited one with private capital - Greek, Bulgarian or international - dominating.

Foreign Minister Pangalos said today that he will discuss this issue further in Russia where he goes immediately after the meeting in Varna. The project for the construction of the Bourgas-Alexandoupolis pipeline was on the agenda of Prime Minister Videnov's recent visit to Moscow.

The Greek Foreign Minister also said today that Greece is skeptic about a Tirana initiative for a meeting of the defence ministers of six Balkan countries. According to him, the Bulgarian side shares Greece' view. Greece believes that armament does not help the peace process in the Balkans, Pangalos said. According to him, the peace process passes through economic and political cooperation.

[10] TRILATERAL FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING. BULGARIAN, GREEK, ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS ISSUE JOINT DECLARATION AFTER MEETING IN VARNA

Varna, March 17 (BTA spec. corr.) - The Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania today issued a joint declaration at the end of their meeting in Varna, on the Black Sea. Georgi Pirinski, Theodoros Pangalos and Teodor Melescanu met to discuss ways of promoting economic cooperation, stability and security in the Balkans and the Black Sea region, and enhancing the role of the European Union in this part of Europe.

The Romanian and Bulgarian delegations reiterated their desire to launch as soon as possible simultaneous negotiations for entry into the EU, while the Greek side showed understanding for their expectations, the declaration reads.

The three countries' Foreign Ministers discussed trilateral cooperation in economy, infrastructure, foreign policy and regional security, and in the combat against illegal immigration, drugs trafficking and organized crime. They are supportive of the free movement of people and ideas and the promotion of social and cultural contacts.

They stressed the importance, and agreed to assist the effective implementation of the principles of goodneighbourliness, inviolability of borders and non-involvement in other countries' internal affairs. They declared themselves against threats of use of force, and in favour of settling disputes between countries in the region through constructive efforts consistent with the universally acknowledged principles of international law.

The Foreign Ministers voiced support for the implementation of the peaceful agreement for Bosnia and Hercegovina and stressed the three countries' contribution in effecting the military and civilian aspects of the peace process. They were unanimous that the EU associate members bordering on former Yugoslavia, have a potential to contribute for the success of the reconstruction efforts on a trilateral basis.

The Foreign Ministers acknowledged the importance of developing the transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure for European integration. They are aware of the significance of the European corridors to be constructed, and particularly of those passing across the three countries' territory, for upgrading regional infrastructure.

The sides said they understand the importance of the projects to be launched with the assistance of PHARE and INTERREG II. They discussed the construction of a new bridge across the Danube.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the possibility of inviting Austria, Hungary and Slovakia to a sexlateral meeting at foreign ministers level to seek ways of enhancing cooperation among these countries as EU members and associated members.

The declaration says that a meeting of business circles of the three countries held simultaneously in Varna was most useful with the additional opportunities it gave for promoting business cooperation.

A trans-regional centre for information exchange and contacts on infrastructure projects will be set up in Sofia, journalists were told at a news conference after the trilateral meeting. The Foreign Ministers were unanimous about the priority that should be given to this initiative, Georgi Pirinski told the news conference.

He also said that Bulgaria and Romania backed an initiative of Greek Foreign Minister Pangalos for a meeting of the ministers of transport, construction, regional development and telecoms to be held in Thessaloniki this autumn to discuss relevant regional projects, including the construction of a new cross-Danubian bridge.

According to Pirinski, Greece and Romania fully support the initiative of the Bulgarian government for an all-Balkan process of cooperation in different fields of priority.

Romanian Foreign Minister Melescanu stressed the significance his counterparts attach to financing infrastructure projects through attracting private capital and assistance from the EU.

"We sent a message of optimism for an economic progress and friendship between the nations in the Balkans," the Greek Foreign Minister said summing up the results of the talks. He voiced hope that what has been achieved during the Varna meeting will be multiplied at the next trilateral meeting due early next year in Romania.

The three countries' Foreign Ministers today met Bulgarian Prime Minister Zhan Videnov at the Evksinograd residence near Varna. Speaking to journalists later Videnov expressed satisfaction with the success of the Foreign Ministers' talks and said the meeting was a major event both for the Balkans and for Europe. The participants in the meeting were invited to an official lunch by the Bulgarian Prime Minister.