site.btaPresident Radev: Strategic Partnership Has Opened the Door Wide to Many Japanese Investments in Bulgaria

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev received senior executives of leading Japanese companies on Wednesday, about a month after the two nations sealed their newly established strategic partnership with a declaration. Radev, quoted by his press secretariat, said the strategic partnership “has opened the door wide to successful implementation of many Japanese investments in Bulgaria.” He vowed: “Japanese businesses and Japan can count on operative and political support for their investments in Bulgaria.”

The declaration raising bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership was signed by President Radev and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on May 20.

The Japanese guests who met with the President in Sofia on Wednesday included Akiyoshi Kato, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, representatives of government agencies and Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria Hisashi Michigami. The Japanese business community was represented during the talks by major companies operating in energy, electronics, transport, infrastructure and digital connectivity, among them Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Toshiba, Hitachi, Panasonic, Horiba, IHI Energy, and Kyosan Electric.

Radev said: “Japanese investments are highly valued in Bulgaria on an economic and trade level and because they offer a chance to borrow the successful Japanese model of interaction of science, education and the economy.”

He underscored the considerable potential for cooperation with Japanese companies in various energy projects in Bulgaria. He cited as an example the planned repairs at the Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant (PSHPP) with the participation of Toshiba. The President said there are possibilities for new investments in the production and storage of energy from renewable sources. Bulgaria has water reservoirs high up in the mountains, where new PSHPPs can be built, he said. According to Radev, such facilities would allow Bulgaria to store renewable energy from Southeastern Europe and to balance the region’s power system. He emphasized the European Commission’s support for the so-called green corridors for renewable energy from North Africa and Central Asia via Bulgaria, which is another opportunity for successful investments here.

The President recalled that during his visit to Japan in May he told Japanese entrepreneurs they should not hesitate to invest in the Bulgarian economy and noted with satisfaction that some of them were already in Bulgaria. He now added: “I will be even happier if the next logical step is taken for the development of our bilateral relations: the establishment of a JETRO office in Bulgaria.” JETRO is the Japan External Trade Organization.

Thanking the President for inviting the Japanese businesspeople to visit Sofia and for the warm welcome accorded to them, Vice-Minister Kato spoke about Bulgaria’s advantages as a destination for Japanese investments. He stressed the availability of talented young personnel in information technology.