In an interview with the Times of India, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev gave a glimpse of his hopes to re-energise the relationship between his country and India.

“As my visit to India takes place in the first year of Bulgaria's EU membership, my message at the talks with prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and with other Indian leaders in New Delhi will be that Bulgaria in the EU continues to be a trusted friend and partner of India,” Stanishev told the newspaper.

“I will share with my interlocutors our views on the prospects for raising Bulgaria-India partnership to a qualitatively new level,” Stanishev said.

The agenda of the visit includes signing bilateral documents on economic co-operation, investment and legal assistance.

Asked about investment opportunities in Bulgaria, Stanishev said that modernisation and development in power engineering were a priority area for investment, with the government encouraging investment in nuclear power plants, and in modernisation and construction of thermal power plants, wind parks and solar power plants.

“We welcome Indian investments in the Bulgarian economy and I am happy to note that Indian investors have already put Bulgaria on their map,” Stanishev said, highlighting the acquisition in 2005 by Global Steel Holding Ltd, owned by Ispat Industries Ltd., of more than 70 per cent of the Kremikovtsi steel plant near Sofia.

“As part of the global efforts to fight climate change, Bulgaria needs to implement the EU target of achieving by 2020 a 20 per cent share of power generated from renewable sources and in this regard, we attach particular importance to the early implementation of the joint project of setting up a solar-based power plant in Bulgaria with assistance from India,” the Times of India quoted Stanishev as saying.

Stanishev's visit to India ends on September 15.