In 2009 Italy and Bulgaria will celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relations. How would you describe, in brief, the state of these relations from an economic, political and cultural point of view?

The 130th anniversary will be celebrated with a number of political, economical, cultural and social events. The anniversary provides us with a good opportunity to recount our achievements so far, and consider future prospects for co-operation. It was symbolic that the anniversary was the motive for President Georgi Purvanov to pay a state visit to Italy on February 25-27 this year.

As part of events planned on the occasion of the anniversary, Bulgaria and Italy will simultaneously issue two commemorative postal stamps.

Last but not least, I want to mention the fact that there will be a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Sofia, which has been one of my dreams. The place for the sculpture has already been chosen and Sofia city hall has given its formal approval, and the plan for the sculpture is wonderful.   

After 1989, bilateral relations expanded and intensified. Since that time, political, economic, cultural, social ties, Italian investments and bilateral trade have been constantly on the rise. This included Italy’s support for Bulgaria’s membership of Nato and the European Union. Membership of these two organisations serves as an improved opportunity for further constructive co-operation between the two countries.

Besides this, the forthcoming official visit by Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini to Bulgaria will give us the opportunity to sign bilateral agreements of vital importance. This would allow further expansion of our bilateral ties and an opportunity to compare our positions on a regular basis.     

Harmonisation of the two countries’ political actions is evident not only in our actions in Nato and the EU – including having military forces side by side in missions abroad – but also in other international organisations of which Italy and Bulgaria are members.

The mutual support that our respective candidacies get in these international organisations is a constant feature of our relations.

There are extensive contacts between members of the two national parliaments which I hope will only intensify in the future. A number of Italian institutions present in Bulgaria also contribute to further development of our bilateral ties. Besides the Italian embassy, which occupies one of the most beautiful buildings in Sofia, we have the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (Istituto  nazionale per il Commercio Estero -ICE) and the Italian Cultural Institute (articles on both organisations can be found in this special feature) and the Italian Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria  (Camera di Commercio Italiana)  and the Consultative Committee of Italian enterpreneurs in Bulgaria (Comitato Consultivo dell’Imprenditoria Italiana in Bulgaria – CCIIB).

The three Italian regions Emilia Romagna, Sicily and Piedmont are also represented in Bulgaria through various activities. And last but not least, three honorary consuls of Italy are to be soon appointed in Plovdiv, Varna and Stara Zagora.  

I would also like to present some data. From an economic point of view, Italy occupies third place among Bulgaria’s trade partners, with more than three billion euro trade in 2008. Italy is among the top 15 foreign investors in Bulgaria in strategic sectors such as energy, banking, insurance and defence.     

I want to give an important example: quite recently, I took part in the ceremony marking the end of the modernisation programme of Maritza Iztok 3 thermal power plant, owned by Italian energy giant Enel. This is the first investment in energy infrastructure project in South Eastern Europe done without state guarantees and the only plant working with lignite coal in compliance with all EU environmental standards.

Real estate is the other sector where Italian investors are very active. Many young Italian architects are taking part in the urban development of Bulgaria. In fact, a lot of the contemporary buildings in Bulgarian cities are designed by Italian architects.  

From a cultural point of view, I want to remind you that Italy and Bulgaria have a long-lasting tradition. Both countries have been under the influence of ancient Greek culture and have a shared past as part of the Roman empire, as evident by the archaeological findings  discovered by Italian archaeological expeditions in Bulgaria. The two countries are bound by the ties of Christianity and continue to share a European cultural heritage. For example, this year a new archaeological expedition by the university of Naples is about to start in the town of Vratsa, northern Bulgaria. Because of all this, cultural ties, on which the Italian Cultural Institute is successfully working, could hardly be better.      

Beside that, Italy’s social activities in Bulgaria also stand out: the embassy, together with other Italian organisations and NGOs, is engaged in a number of social solidarity initiatives. I would like to point out the KID project, carried out by an Italian consortium and Emilia  Romagna region with EU funds and the work of the Amici Dei Bambini foundation that works with youngsters who leave social homes at different ages. Another charity initiative about which I would like to give advance notice will be launched in July this year by the Overland for Smile association when Italian dentists will give free treatment to children from some of Bulgaria’s social homes. Finally, I am happy to mention the Roma fashion show that took place at the embassy building on May 7, to promote their culture, and the great results the Italian community achieves each year in raising funds for the Christmas charity bazaar in Sofia.   

You have been ambassador in Bulgaria for about a year now. Within this short time you have taken up a number of initiatives. One of the most important is the large-scale campaign for prevention, of and fight, against breast cancer. What is this initiative about and what are its objectives?

In my activities as ambassador, I try to touch on issues that are not necessarily part of bilateral  relations. Italy has long years of experience in fighting breast cancer and I would like to give Bulgaria the opportunity to take advantage of this. That’s why I have launched this initiative that has the support of Zorka Purvanova, wife of President Georgi Purvanov, and Health Minister Evgenii Zhelev, among others. It aims at establishing more active co-operation among scientists of the two countries. I offered Bulgarian institutions the experience of some of the best practices of Italian regions in terms of prevention, screening, and control of the illness. In the short-term, this project envisages Bulgaria creating a research centre on oncological illnesses that will work with Italian research bodies at the highest levels. This co-operation will also help bring down the number of Bulgarian scientists leaving the country. Bulgaria is suffering from the fact that most of its qualified people leave the country, an issue which unfortunately also applies to Italy. Today we still have a large number of young people emigrating for better pay and some of them are highly-qualified.
   
Italy and Bulgaria have the benefit of their rich cultural and history heritage that makes them attractive tourist destinations. Italy has good and successful experience in cultural tourism. In what way can it assist Bulgaria in developing this sector of its tourism?  

Both Bulgaria and Italy have as priorities the encouragement of their cultural tourism. Italy is the country that invented cultural tourism 500 years ago and for decades has been applying practices that can serve as inspiration to Bulgaria. Bulgaria has a vast historical and archaeological heritage and I am convinced that the country has the potential to develop its cultural tourism. I think, however, that Bulgaria has not yet started using this full potential and I intend to offer Italian experience so that Bulgaria can expand its ability to attract more EU structural funds and money from foreign investors.