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Rumen Radev and Ram Nath Kovind: Bulgaria and India will Reaffirm Their Traditional Friendship by Ensuring a New Dynamics of Bilateral Trade

The two presidents highlighted information technologies, nuclear research, space research, defense and pharmacy as the most promising spheres of implementing joint projects

Bulgaria and India will encourage the contacts between the businesses in high value-added spheres to double the bilateral trade over the next years. This is what Presidents Rumen Radev and Ram Nath Kovind agreed on during their meeting held today in Sofia. The President of the Republic of India is on a state visit to Bulgaria together with his wife Savita Kovind at the invitation of the Bulgarian Head of State. This is the first visit of an Indian President in the past 15 years, whereby the top-level political dialogue between Bulgaria and India is resumed.  The delegation led by Ram Nath Kovind includes representatives of tens of Indian companies.

The two presidents highlighted information technologies, nuclear research, space research, defense, pharmacy, agriculture and tourism as particularly promising spheres of promoting trade. India has achieved a sustainable GDP growth of 7-10 percent in the past 10 years and Bulgaria will work toward promoting the cooperation in investments in spheres of mutual interest, the Bulgarian President said at the meeting.

In Rumen Radev’s words, connecting Bulgaria and India by a direct air service will provide an extra stimulus to the contacts between the businesses, bilateral trade and the implementation of joint projects. “We should considerably strengthen our economic partnership so that it matches the depth of our political relations,” Ram Nath Kovind in turn said.

Bulgaria supports India’s stance to occupy an appropriate place in the UN and within the Security Council system given that a future reform of the organization is conducted and highly appreciates the country's foreign policy pursued in the spirit of a constructive dialogue, promoting peace, good-neighborliness and fighting global terrorism, President Radev said at the meeting. The two Heads of State highly appreciated the partnership between Bulgaria and India in the international organizations and multilateral diplomacy. Terrorism is a serious threat to mankind and the international community should respond adequately to cope with this threat, the Indian President said and extended gratitude for our country’s support for India’s candidacy to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The cooperation in the spheres of defense, joint research, the exchange of defense technologies and military training were also highlighted as promising spheres of mutual interest. Upon the invitation of President Radev, a delegation of Indian experts will visit Bulgaria to explore the opportunities provided and programs offered by the Bulgarian military schools of higher education.

The two leaders shared the opinion that the bilateral partnership in the sphere of education, culture and science has considerably contributed to the development of the friendly ties between the two peoples.  Indian students traditionally study medicine in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language is actively taught at the universities in Delhi. The position shared by Rumen Radev and Ram Nath Kovind was that the relations between Bulgaria and India rest on genuine friendship and this provides a solid fundament for establishing a modern partnership, based on shared democratic values and commitment to global peace and security.

In the presence of the two Presidents a number of bilateral documents were signed in the coat-of-arms hall at 2 Dondukov street – a Science and Technology Cooperation Program for the 2018-2021 period, Memorandum of Cooperation in Tourism, Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia on having visiting lecturers in Hindi, and also a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy and the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership.

Later on President Ram Nath Kovind will deliver a lecture at the Aula Magna of the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia on the topic of “Education as an instrument of change and common prosperity.”

The two presidents will attend the closing ceremony of the Bulgarian-Indian business forum, in which representatives of more than 300 companies from the two countries are taking part.

Tomorrow the presidents of Bulgaria and India will unveil a monument of the legendary leader of the Indian independence movement Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier the wives of the two Heads of State – Desislava Radeva and Savita Kovind visited the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with an Ethnographic Museum in Sofia and children’s clinics of the Pirogov University Hospital for Active Treatment and Emergency Medicine. Mrs. Kovind made a donation to the children’s clinics of the Pirogov University Hospital.