“In 2011 Bulgaria’s export to China increased by 103.2% against 2010. China is a country with increasing consumption of agricultural production, while Bulgaria has the conditions and means to cultivate crops that are favourable for the Chinese market,” Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Delyan Dobrev said at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Miao Wei, Minister for Industry and Information Technology. Minister Dobrev is on a visit to China to take part in the Invest in Bulgaria forum, organised by the Bulgarian Investment Agency and the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board, the press office of the Bulgarian ministry announced.At the meeting Dobrev also expressed his wish for increase of the number of Chinese tourists in Bulgaria. In January-August 2012 the number of Chinese tourists that visited Bulgaria has increased by 31% compared to the same period in 2011.

“This month the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism organises an information tour for Chinese journalists in Bulgaria, while next year we plan the same visit for Chinese tour operators, too,” Delyan Dobrev said further. In the frames of the official meetings Minister Dobrev confirmed Bulgaria’s wish to host the annual meeting of the government leaders of China and the Central and East European countries in 2013. In addition, a memorandum of cooperation in the field of investments encouragement between the two countries was inked at the presence of Ministers Delyan Dobrev and Miao Wei.