Your impressive advancement towards the executive power and succesful starting period as Prime Minister have created legitimately high expectations not only in Bulgaria but also in the the rest of the world. From a Swedish perspective a window of opportunity in Bulgaria has opened. Let me assure you how very optimistic I am that Bulgaria under your new, widely popular and visionary leadership offers great opportunities for deepened bilateral relations between our countries. Among the many areas of co-operation, I believe you share my conviction that intensified business relations between Bulgaria and Sweden are the most vital for the development of our economies and societies.
With this letter I will present and share my strategic assessment of the development of the Swedish Business Agenda in Bulgaria. I write to you with a sense of urgency - the window of opportunity will not stay open indefinitely.
Over the last five-year period Swedish investment in Bulgaria has amounted to 8,6 million USD. Last year's annual Swedish export to Bulgaria was around 50 million USD and the import 25 million USD.
I am convinced that these figures only reflect a fraction of the already existing business potential between our countries.
Unimpressive as this statistics may look, the Swedish Government and Swedish investors believe that the horizon for Swedish strategic investments in Bulgaria has never been brighter. The decision to establish an Honorary Consulate of Sweden on the Black Sea Coast as soon as possible should be seen along the lines of these optimistic expectations.
Already today, Swedish knowledge and investments want to participate in the restructuring and development of the Bulgarian economy on a much larger scale. In Annex 1 a number of Swedish investors are presented, who already today are prepared and capable of making strategic investments in Bulgaria. A constructive dialogue on these different projects has been initiated with your Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Nikolay Vassilev at a working luncheon with the Swedish business community at my residence on the 26 September.
My role is to assist Swedish companies and safeguard their interests. However, the risk and the business considerations are solely the companies' responsibility. I do not ask for advantages or preferential treatment for Swedish companies. On the contrary, I only ask for transparent and professional behaviour on the part of the Bulgarian Government and business partners. In this context, your staunch commitment against corruption is an important message. International surveys show that Swedish companies are more successful in countries where the corruption level is low or negligible.
Let us use the rampant development in the tourist industry as a beacon for other industries in the longer term. This year 60 000 Swedish tourists visited the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast - no other destination for Swedish tourism has had a stronger growth than Bulgaria in the last two years.
In this perspective, I believe that IT and telecom can be areas where the Bulgarian industry can assert itself in the face of global competition. I therefore commend your Government's commitment to give priority to this area. Sweden has historically excelled in technological innovations, today it is recognised as world leader in IT and telecommunications. I am convinced that Swedish knowledge and investments in Bulgaria in the IT-sector can be of great importance. Let me conclude this letter by inviting your Government for closer long-term co-operation in this area.
I look forward to a fruitful co-operation and a dynamic development of the Bulgarian-Swedish relations.
Sten Ask
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