Amid the global economic downturn and political instability, a comprehensive partnership between countries is no longer a choice, but a necessity, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev underscored during his visit to Korea last week.

The first in six years of Bulgarian president’s visit to Seoul, Plevneliev came with key government officials and some 30 business leaders to mark 25 years of bilateral ties.

At the summit meeting on Thursday, Plevneliev and President Park Geun-hye signed three memorandums of understanding in defense, science and technology as well as education and culture, and raised the relations to a “comprehensive and future-oriented partnership.”

Both leaders also agreed to cooperate in Bulgaria’s infrastructure projects in energy, transportation, logistics and e-government, worth 9.3 billion euros.

With a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, the two countries will host the first joint economic committee meeting in Sofia in October.

“Despite the short span of our ties, relations have grown by leaps and bounds based on mutual respect and trust,” the president said in a reception at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Thursday. 

“The signing of our partnership symbolizes our closeness. Korea is Bulgaria’s high-priority country in Asia for its strong economy, and Bulgaria assumes leadership among the Balkan countries.”

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se; 18th National Assembly member and the Korea-Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Association chairman Kim Young-woo; Honorary Consul of Bulgaria Kim Hi-yong; and Hanguk University of Foreign Studies president Kim In-chul, participated in the event.

Addressing Bulgarian Ambassador Petar Andonov as “not just a usual diplomat,” Plevneliev complimented his contribution to the foreign service, which sprung from his past career as a journalist and policy adviser to the former Bulgarian president and prime minister.

Last year’s bilateral trade volume reached $310 million, with Korean firms investing $260 million in Bulgaria, and Bulgarian firms investing $1.2 million in Korea.

“Our world is under a myriad of political, economic and environmental crises. These problems require comprehensive and multidimensional cooperation,” Plevneliev said.

“Success and failures on the world’s stage are shared by all nations. Creating a better world requires big powers and smaller nations to work together.”

Bulgaria plans to lift its economy by developing the information communications technology sector with foreign investment, vying to be the “Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe.” It is in the process of creating an ecosystem called the Sofia Tech Park.

Sofia ranks as the third European capital in the number of entrepreneurship. International firms such as the HP, IBM, SAP, Cisco and Oracle have set up branches in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian ICT workers have high educational credentials, while operation and labor costs are one of Europe’s lowest.

“Bulgaria’s competitive strengths and business-friendly environment can help Korean firms enter the larger European market with 500 million people,” the president said.

“Our priorities are enlarging cooperation into infrastructure, energy, transport, automobiles, agriculture, food, outsourcing and research and development.”

Plevneliev said that increasing people exchanges in science, education, art have led to better understanding of both cultures, with Korean movies, dramas and music driven by the “Korean Wave” boom making strides among Bulgarian youths.

Bulgaria ranks third in the number of people who took TOPIK, the Test of Proficiency in Korean; many Bulgarian students in elementary, middle and high schools are learning Korean.

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul has a Bulgarian language department, and the Sofia University has a Korean studies department.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)