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Presidents of Bulgaria and India held extensive talks
in an atmosphere of close friendship and mutual understanding
that traditionally characterize the Indo-Bulgarian relationship.
President Kalam visited Rila Monastery.
In the Joint
Statement both sides expressed satisfaction
that a Treaty on Extradition between the Government
of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the
Republic of India has been signed during the visit.
An Agreement for cooperation on Youth Affairs and Sports
has been also signed during the visit, which will ensure
widening the scope of bilateral interaction. The MoU
between the Bulgarian Association of Information Technology
and the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion
Council of India, which was also signed during this
visit, will further tap the inherent strengths of both
growing economies and enhance bilateral economic cooperation.
Speech by the President
of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the banquet hosted
by the President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov (October
23, 2003).
Address
by the President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
to the Sofia University (October 23, 2003).
 About
five years before, the then President of Bulgaria Mr.
Petar Stoyanov paid a state visit to India, accompanied
by his wife and a high-level official delegation, on
25-30 October 1998. He met the then Indian President
K.R.Narayanan, the then Indian Vice-President K. Kant,
the Prime Minister of India A.B.Vajpayee and the President
of INC(I) Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. An Agreement between the
Governments of Bulgaria and India on Protection and
Promotion of Investments, an Agreement on Mutual Cooperation
between ITPO and the International Fair Inc. Plovdiv,
an MOU between the National Centre for Trade Information
(NCTI), Ministry of Commerce, and the Bulgarian Export
Promotion Centre, Ministry of Trade and Tourism, Sofia,
a MOU between the CII and the Bulgarian Industrial Association,
were signed. During the Bulgarian President's visit,
a Secondary school in New Delhi was named after the
Bulgarian poet and freedom-fighter G.S.Rakovski. President
Stoyanov visited Agra, Udaipur and Mumbai.
High level visits from Indian side in the period
after the establishment of the diplomatic relations:
Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India, visited
Bulgaria in 1956; President of India V.V.Giri visited
Bulgaria in October 1970; President of India Neelam
Sanjiva Reddy visited Bulgaria in 1980; Vice President
R.Venkataraman visited Bulgaria in 1985. Prime Minister
of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi visited Bulgaria in 1967
and 1981. Former Prime Minister of India P.V.Narasimha
Rao visited Bulgaria in 1982 as Foreign Minister and
in 1988 as Minister for Human Resource Development in
connection with the "Days of Indian Culture"
organised in Bulgaria.
Exchange of Parliamentary delegations
Parliamentary delegations from Bulgaria visited India
in 1982, 1987 and 1993 (to attend IPU Conference). Indian
parliamentary delegations visited Bulgaria in 1967,
1980, 1986 and 1988 (to attend IPU Conference).
Exchange of visits of Foreign Ministers:
Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited India
in 1980. Indian Minister of External Affairs visited
Bulgaria in 1982, in 1986, and in 1988 (as a member
of the Indian delegation for IPU Conference).
Exchange of visits of Ministers of Culture:
The Bulgarian Minister of Culture visited India in 1978,
1981 and in 1994. Indian Minister of Culture visited
Bulgaria in 1985 (to attend General Conference of UNESCO),
and in 1988.
Other important visits in the last 10 years:
President of India Dr. S.D.Sharma paid a State Visit
to Bulgaria on May 26-29, 1994. The President addressed
the Bulgarian National Assembly and was awarded an Honorary
Doctorate by Sofia University. Then Bulgarian Prime
Minister Prof.L.Berov called on President. Six Agreements
were signed during the visit, viz., Agreement on combating
organized crime, international terrorism, illegal trafficking
in narcotics and psychotropic substances; Agreement
on Avoidance of Double Taxation; Agreement on Co-operation
in Tourism; Agreement on Quarantine & Plant Protection;
Veterinary & Sanitary Agreement; and, a Protocol
on Consultations and Cooperation between the two Foreign
Ministries. A Joint Statement setting out the achievements
of the visit and the directions of future co-operation
was issued at the conclusion of the visit.
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Roumen Gechev visited
India on 26-30 September 1995. He addressed representatives
of trade and industry at a meeting organized by FICCI.
Mr. Indrajit Gupta, then Home Minister of India, visited
Bulgaria on October 30 - November 04, 1996.
The Bulgarian Minister of Trade & Foreign Economic
Cooperation, Mr.Atanas Paparizov, visited India on 3-7
December, 1996, as Co-Chairman of the Indo-Bulgarian
Joint Commission which held its 11th session in New
Delhi from 3-6 December, 1996.
Mr. B.P.Singh, then Secretary, Department of Culture,
visited Bulgaria in September 1997, for signing the
Programme for Cooperation in the Field of Science, Education
and Culture between Bulgaria and India for the period
1997-99.
Mr. B.B.Ramaiah, then Minister of State for Commerce
of India, visited Bulgaria in September 1997, accompanied
by Indian businessmen. A session of JBC was also held
during the visit.
Mrs. Kamala Sinha, then Minister of State for External
Affairs of India, paid an official visit to Bulgaria
on 29-31 October 1997.
The Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Trade and Tourism,
Mr.Hristo Mihailovski, visited India on 27-30 April
1998. He was accompanied by a group of officials and
businessmen.
The Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr. Ilko
Miloushev, visited India on 8-10 December, 1998, to
take part in a Seminar organised by the Ministry of
Railways.
Exchange of Visits of Parliamentary Delegations:
The Hon'ble Speaker Mr. Shivraj Patil led a Parliamentary
delegation to Bulgaria in June 1993. The return visit
of a Bulgarian Parliamentary delegation led by Mr. Alexander
Yordanov, then Chairman of the Bulgarian National Assembly,
took place in March 1994. Lok Sabha Speaker Mr.P.A.Sangma,
led a multi-party parliamentary delegation including
then Leader of Opposition of Lok Sabha Mr. Atal Behari
Vajpayee, to Bulgaria on 6-8 October 1997. The Chairman
of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Yordan Sokolov,
visited India at the head of a Bulgarian Parliamentary
delegation, on 17-26 December 1997. Mr. George Ganchev,
MP and Chairman of the Bulgarian Parliamentary Group
for "Friendship with India" visited India
on 21-26 February, 1999.
Foreign Ministries Consultations, based
on the Protocol on Consultations and Co-operation between
the Foreign Ministries of Bulgaria and India, signed
in 1994, were held in December 1995 /Sofia/, in October
1997 /New Delhi/, and in September 1999 /Sofia/.
The Indo-Bulgarian Joint Commission for Economic,
Scientific and Technical Cooperation, set up
in 1973 at Ministerial level, has been meeting regularly
to monitor and develop economic co-operation between
the two countries. The 12th Session of the Joint Commission
was held in Sofia from 22-25 September 1998. MOS for
Agriculture, Mr. Sompal, led the Indian side, while
the Bulgarian side was led by Mr. Valentin Vassilev,
Minister for Trade and Tourism.
The visits in the period after 2000
From Bulgarian side:
29 October – 1 November 2000 – Official visit
to India by H.E. Mr. Boyko Noev, Minister of Defence
of Bulgaria.
7 – 10 November 2000 – Official visit to India
by H.E. Mr. Ventsislav Varbanov, Minister of Agriculture
and Forests, leading Bulgarian delegation to the 13th
Session of the Bulgarian-Indian Joint Commission on
Economic, Scientific and Technical cooperation, held
in New Delhi from November 7-10,2000.
14-18 March 2001 – Official visit to India by H.E.Mr.
Petar Jotev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy
of Bulgaria. Mr. Jotev was accompanied by Mr. Velizar
Shalamanov, Deputy Minister of Defence.
19-22 February 2002 – Visit to India by Mr. Kaloyan
Ninov, Deputy Minister of Economy, at the head of Bulgarian
delegation to the International Military Fair in New
Delhi.
23-24 May 2002 – Visit to India of Bulgarian delegation,
led by Mr. Dragovest Goranov, Director of “Asia,
Australia and the Pacific” Directory of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, for participation in the International
Conference on Afghanistan.
27 October – 3 November 2002 – Visit to India
by Mr. Igor Damyanov, Deputy Minister of Education and
Science, for participation in the 1st Session of Bulgarian-Indian
Joint Committeee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
23 October – 1 November 2002 – Visit to India
by Mrs. Fatme Iliaz, Deputy Minister of Environment
and Waters, for participation in the 8th Conference
of the countries-members of UN Convention on Climate
changes.
21-26 January 2003 – Official visit by H.E. Mr.
Assen Agov, Deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian National
Assembly, for celebrations of the 50th anniversary of
the Indian parliament.
March 2003 – Visit to India by Mr. Milen Keremidchiev,
Deputy Minister of Economy, at the head of group of
Bulgarian businessmen.
7 – 13 July 2003 – Official visit to India
by H.E. Dr. Vladimir Atanassov, Minister of Education
and Science, for participation in the New Delhi Conference
“Dialogue among Civilizations – Quest for
New Perspectives”. Meetings with the Minister for
Human Resources Development H.E. Mr. M.M. Joshi and
with the Minister of Science and Technology H.E. Mr.
B. S. Rawat.
28 – 29 July 2004–Official
visit to India by H.E. Dr. Solomon Passy, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria – A MoU for cooperation
between the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and the Foreign Service
Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs of India
was signed during the visit.
December 2005 - official visit of H.E. Prof. Daniel Valtchev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Science
From Indian side:
6-11 April 2002 - Official Visit to Bulgaria by H.E.
Mr. Bachi Singh Rawat, Minister of State for Science
and Technology of India. On April 8 he sighned the Programme
of Cooperation in Science and Technology with Bulgaria.
11-12 July 2002 – Offiacial Visit to Bulgaria by
H.E. Mr. Ajit Singh, Minister of Agriculture, for participation
in the 14th Session of the Bulgarian-Indian Joint Commission.
5-8 June 2003 – Official visit by H.E. Mrs. Sushma
Swaraj, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, of Health
and Family Welfare.
19-22 October 2003 – Indian delegation to Bulgaria,
led by Mr. A.K. Kalra Adviser at the Ministry of Science
and Technology, for participation in the 2nd Session
of the Joint Committee for Scientific and Technological
Cooperation.
22-24 October 2003 – State visit of H.E. Dr. Abdul
Kalam, President of the Republic of India. Meetings
with the President, with the Chairman and with the Prime
Minister of Bulgaria. 3 agreements signed.
February 2004 - official visit of H.E. Mr. Arun Shourie, Minister of Disinvestment, Communications and Information Technologies; June 2006 - official visit of H.E. Dr. Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs.
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