Georgios Roussos: The blessings of cultural exchange

Georgios Roussos, chief executive officer of Intracom Bulgaria SA, has travelled regularly to Sofia since 2001, when he was key account manager of Intracom for the implementation of the CBM (Globul) GSM network. His company sent him permanently to Sofia in March 2006.

“During the first years of travelling to Bulgaria my impressions were limited to Sofia. It was very interesting to me to see the changes at all levels. A new reality started to dawn in 2001 and I think it’s important to salute everyone’s achievements since then.”

He feels that Sofia is not necessarily representative of Bulgaria and believes it’s vital not to overlook the marvellous Bulgarian countryside. “The nature is wonderful, the architecture of the old historical towns is fascinating and the tourist industry is highly developed. Bulgaria’s also a very fast growing country with considerable achievements in its political and financial sectors.”

Georgios think that Bulgaria and Greece have much in common. “Both are Balkan countries with similar mentalities. Bulgaria made great efforts in the years before European Union accession. In coming years it will reap the benefits more conspicuously. Greece, on the other hand, having been an EU country since 1981, developed its infrastructure earlier. In recent years great efforts have been made in these sectors [in Bulgarian] and the trend is one of continuous improvement.”

Culturally, he sees many similarities between the two nations, particularly involving music and dance, especially with the northern part of Greece (Epire, Macedonia and Thrace). “Greek culture is very much related to ancient Greece, the orthodox religion and its independent character. In general, Greeks are perhaps more open to new experiences. Exploration is part of the Greek culture and character.”

Cultural exchange is always beneficial, Georgios believes. “Through your daily work, you have the opportunity to understand your Bulgarian colleagues’ way of life and enrich your own. On the down side, when you work abroad, you tend to miss out on daily life with your family and old friends.”