Photo: 🇿🇦🇧🇬 Arrival of Bulgarian President, Rumen Georgiev Radev.
Photo Credit: Dirco
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Photo: Bulgarian President, Rumen Georgiev Radev was received by Minister Naledi Pandor upon arrival
Photo Credit: Dirco
President Rumen Radev arrived in the Republic of South Africa on Thursday evening on a May 12-13 official visit. He was received by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor.
The President is accompanied by his wife Desislava Radeva.
On Friday, Radev met with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa at his official residence in Pretoria. The two presidents had a one-on-one discussion, after which they chaired plenary talks between the delegations of the two countries. Deeper political dialogue and the development of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest was the focus of the talks.
A business forum was held in the framework of Radev’s visit to Pretoria, which was attended by representatives of 31 Bulgarian companies and industry organizations and their counterparts from South Africa. A memorandum of cooperation between the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry was expected to be signed during the event.
Radev paid tribute to those who died in South Africa’s struggle for freedom and layed a wreath at the Freedom Park in the South African capital.
Radev opened an exhibition on Bulgarian support for the struggle of the South African people against apartheid and social discrimination.
On Saturday, in Midrand, at the invitation of the Association of Bulgarians in South Africa, Radev attended the consecration of the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in South Africa, St. John of Rila. It was consecrated by the Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora and met with Bulgarian community
Radev’s delegation included Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Transport Minister Hristo Aleksiev, Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov, and the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Innovation and Growth, Velislava Petrova and Stefan Savov. Representatives of industry organisations, companies in the field of information technology and innovation, fintech industry, mechanical engineering, energy, pharmaceutical and defence industry, agriculture, and food industry are also part of the delegation.
This is the second visit by a Bulgarian head of state after President Georgi Parvanov (2002-2012) visited Johannesburg on September 1-5, 2002, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.