Itar-Tass

Bulgaria hopes to attract one billion dollars in Russian investments in its national economy within the next few years, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Nikolay Vassilev who is paying a working visit to Moscow said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass.

"The new government of Bulgaria which came into office last July thinks it to be an important task to consolidate relations with Russia," he said. People in Bulgaria see Russia "as an immense market and a considerable source of investment whose potential has not yet been fully tapped."

Sofia 'counts on the interest of Russian investors in the projects in the power sphere in connection with the existing plans for privatisation of practically the whole energy sector in Bulgaria."

The Bulgarian delegation discussed the project of building a pipeline from Burgas to Alexandroupolis that will run across Russia and Bulgaria to Greece. "Sofia is ready to realize the project, we have political will to do so,' Vassilev said.

In Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, "the Bulgarian delegation expressed readiness to step up both domestic consumption and transit of gas via its territory to other markets, for instance, in Turkey, Greece, Macedonia or Yugoslavia.

The Bulgarian politician said the 1990s were "a decade of lost opportunities in our relations." "Ten years ago, trade turnover amounted to billions of dollars, but by the beginning of this decade it had shrunk to 118 million dollars. The situation has only just begun to improve."

Vassilev who is accompanied by leaders of 60 major firms said the aim of his visit was "to open doors to Russia" for Bulgarian businesses. "We have potential for doubling deliveries of Bulgarian pharmaceutical products to Russia within a year or two," the vice-premier said. An expansion of its presence in Russia is also planned by Glavbulgarstroi building company and Bulgartabac tobacco company which counts that Russian capital will be interested in its privatisation.

According to Vassilev, Russian investors may also take part in the forthcoming sell-off of two banks and a telecommunications company. "In Bulgaria," he said, "an increase is expected in the inflow of Russian tourists. It has already grown by 50 percent over the past two years."

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