Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev (L) welcomed his counterpart from Kazakhstan Daniyal Akhmetov (R) in Sofia. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia News Agency)
Kazakhstan is interested in investing in the Bulgarian oil refining and energy industry, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev announced after a closed-door meeting with his Kazakhstan counterpart Daniyal Akhmetov.
Akhmetov said that Kazakhstan recognizes Bulgaria as a pathway to the EU common market and added that experts from Kazakhstan would soon come and evaluate the resources the Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipe offers.
He also thanked Bulgaria for its support to Kazakhstan's World Trade Organisation (WTO) candidature.
Later on Monday, while in Bulgaria, Akhmetov met with President Georgi Parvanov and Parliament Speaker Georgi Pirinski.
Bulgaria's former chief prosecutor and current Kazakhstan envoy Nikola Filchev did not attend the meeting because he had not handed in his letters of credentials yet.