Bulgaria has offered Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical to use its Black Sea port of Burgas for logistics and shipping for its trade with Central and Western Europe.

Bulgaria's Economy Ministry announced in a statement Wednesday that during his visit in Japan at the beginning of the week, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov has presented the logistics opportunities that Port Burgas offers to the CEO of Sumitomo Chemical Yoshimasa Takao.

The Ministry emphasizes that the conversation between the Bulgarian government and Sumitomo Chemical about the logistic services of Port Burgas comes at a time when the Japanese company considers the most suitable options for tranporting its products to Europe.

The government declares that turning Bulgaria in a "door" to Europe for Asian goods is one of the goals of the country's new economic strategy.

"Bulgaria can be the door to Europe for Central and Eastern Asian countries," Japan's Minister of Economy, Commerce, and Industry Banri Kaieda is quoted as having told Traikov during their meeting in Tokyo.

A special fund of the Japanese Economy Ministry facilitating investments in renewable energy can be used to support the Toshiba Corporation in its plans to invest EUR 37.6 M in the construction a 10 MW solar power park near Bulgaria's Yambol.

During his working visits in Japan, Bulgara's Deputy Economy Minister Evgeni Angelov met with Hideo Naito, Director of Europe, Middle East, and Africa Department of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), focusing on the energy sector.

The Bulgarian Economy Ministry stresses JBIC's involvement with major projects in Bulgaria such as the extension of the Sofia Metro lines, the construction of terminals in Bulgaria's Black Sea ports Varna and Burgas, rehabilitation of units 1-4 of the Maritsa East 2 TPP, among others.