Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will pay a visit to Bulgaria next week accompanied by a sizable business delegation.
The visit of Bashar al-Assad to Sofia will be the first visit of a Syrian head of state since his father Hafez al-Assad last was in Bulgaria in October 1987. Back thencommunist Bulgaria before 1989 and Syria enjoyed especially good relations.
The visit of the Syrian President to Bulgaria on November 9-10, 2010, comes in a couple of months after over the summer a statement of Bulgaria's Defense MinisterAnyu Angelov outrage Syria, which even threatened to break diplomatic ties with Bulgaria, according to a report of a major Bulgarian newspaper.
Speaking about Bulgaria's participation in the US missile shield in Europe in June 2010, Angelov named Iran and Syria as "the major sources of threat" that the shield will counter. According to the reports, the Syrian reaction was very strong, and only a secret emergency visit to Damascus by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov managed to assuage the situation.
Assad will be returning a visit to Damascus of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov from April 2010. Syria and Bulgaria signed in April a deal to write off most of Damascus' outstanding debt to the European nation.
Under the agreement, signed by Bulgaria Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria agreed to write off USD 54 M of Damascus' debt. Syria has vowed to study ways to repay the remaining USD 17 M.
Assad with arrive to Bulgaria accompanied by a large Syrian business delegation including 56 representatives of large Syrian companies and business associations active in international transport, textile and clothes production, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, tourism, engineering, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, energy, food industry, real estate, and communications.
They will take part in a Bulgarian-Syrian business forum organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on November 9.
Novinite
