At a reception hosted by Ambassador Petar Andonov of Bulgaria
President Rosen Plevneliev of the Republic of Bulgaria was a target of warm admiration among the Korean and international guests at the reception at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hosted by Ambassador Petar Andonov of Bulgaria in honor of the visiting Bulgarian on May 14, 2015.
In sharp contrast with many other Heads of Government visiting Korea, President Plevneliev of Bulgaria mingled with the guests without any discrimination with any and all the Korean and international guests who wanted to shake hands with him.
The warm feeling on the part of the Bulgarian President was evident also in his speech to the guests, which is self-explanatory. In an unofficial English translation by The Korea Post from a Korean text, he spoke to the following effect:
It is a great honor and pleasure to be with you all here tonight at the beautiful Seoul, one of the fastest-growing modern cities of the world.
Viewing the Seoul city, the center of global technology and culture, I could surely feel the eventful history of the Republic of Korea and denotive thinking of the Korean people.
This official visit to the Republic of Korea is in centration of the 25th anniversary establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Korea. In the past 25 years, the two countries have been building up the close relationship of partners through mutual trust, respect and values commonly shared by the two nations. It was not a very long one, but it has been a very dynamic and successful period of time. The Republic of Korea is one of the powerful countries of the world and an ‘Asian Tiger’ and for Bulgaria Korea is a priority country in Asia.
At the same time, Bulgaria is performing the role of a leading country in the Balkan Peninsula region with a considerable measure of influence. Bulgaria is also known as a ‘Country of Yogurt and Health Food.’Bulgaria is considered one of the advanced countries in the world in information-communication technology and was the first country among the Balkan countries to establish the ‘Sofia Tech Park’ establishing an epochal bio system. Bulgaria is also rated as the front-runner in the area of super-speed Internet field and Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, is one of the three top capitals of the region in terms of number of new business companies.
Bulgaria has an economic structure that stands out in the international competitiveness and business-friendliness and can beautifully perform the role of a launching land for their inroads into Europe.
The world where we all live in today has various difficulties such as economic crisis and political difficulties as well as natural calamities. The problems we face are multi-faceted and comprehensive and in the present-day world we all share both the burden of the tragedy and the benefit of the success.
Cooperation is no longer a matter of choice but requirement. So today it is important more than it was at other time for us to find a good friend and trustworthy partner. The Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Korea and the peoples of the two countries must join hands and work for co-prosperity. Let us go together.
The party was attended by many important guests from Korean society and the international community, who included, from the Korean side, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se, Rep. Kim Young-woo (chairman of the Korea-Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Association), President Kim Inchul of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Honorary Consul Kim Han-young of Bhutan, Honorary Consul Lee Kwang-yong of Malta and Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post.
From the Diplomatic Corps, attendance was among the largest in many months with many mission chiefs attending. Among them were Ambassadors Albino Malungo of Angola, Jorge Roballo of Argentina, Elisabeth Bertagnoli of Austria, Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan, Natallia Jhylevich of Belarus, Guadalupe Palomeque de Taboada of Bolivia, Hernan Brantes Glavic of Chile, Tomas Husak of Czech Republic, Grecia Fiodalicia Pichardo of Dominican Republic, Tomasz Kozlowski of Delegation of The Europan Union, Matti Heimonen of Finland, Rolf Mafael of Germany, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia, Gabor Csaba of Hungary, Hassan Taherian of Iran, Aingeal O’onoghue of Ireland, Sergio Mercuri of Italy, Duishonkul Chotonov of Kyrgyzstan, Dato Rohana binti Ramli of Malaysia, Calin Fabian of Romania, Zoran Kazazovic of Serbia, Milan Lajciak of Slovak Republic, Tissa Wijeratne of Sri Lanka, Hakan Okcal of Turkey, Myrat Mammetalyyev of Turkmenistan, Vasyl Marmazov of Ukraine, Dr. Alba Florio Legnani of Uruguay and Botir Asadov of Uzbekistan.
There was also a traditional Bulgarian dance performance presented by the students of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
