2008-03-14Staff Report 2 "WINDHOEK Namibia and Bulgaria this week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on holding diplomatic consultations between the countries' Foreign Affairs ministries. Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Lempy Lucas and Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister, Feim Chaushev, put their signatures to the agreement on behalf of their governments. It was also announced that Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov will visit Namibia from June 23 to 24. Chaushev and his delegation arrived in the country Tuesday for a three-day official visit. He said the agreement is a positive step towards interaction between Namibia and Bulgaria pertaining to foreign affairs. According to him, Bulgaria became the first European Union country to sign such an agreement with Namibia, adding that Namibia is also top of the list of the countries that Bulgaria intends to strengthen development relations with. ""We also want to make the year 2008 a year of political dialogue between Namibia and Bulgaria,"" Chaushev said. During his stay, Chaushev will meet with various government ministries' officials to dialogue on education, energy and agriculture. On her part, Lucas said the agreement serves the right purpose of cementing the already existing bilateral relationship between the two countries. ""The relationship between our two countries dates back to the liberation struggle of Namibia. Bulgaria helped Swapo politically, materially and economically,"" she said. ""Various Namibians were also trained in Bulgaria and are currently occupying key positions in the country and contributing to its socio-economic development,"" she said. During the meeting with Lucas, Chaushev announced that the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov would visit Namibia from June 23 to 24 this year. He will be accompanied by a business delegation. Chaushev and his delegation will proceed to South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. The Bulgarian delegation visited Angola before Namibia. " 2008-03-14Staff Report 2
