“It’s wonderful to be the South African ambassador. We have only friends, no enemies,” says Gerhard Visser, interviewed by The Sofia Echo in the light of South Africa’s National Day on April 27.

It is 14 years since South Africans went to the polls in the country’s first universal-franchise election that brought a formal end to the tragic era of apartheid. On an autumn day in Pretoria, military helicopters that formerly had been a symbol of oppression and danger for the majority of the country’s people did a ceremonial flypast bearing giant new South African flags, bringing a flood of emotion to many because of the change they symbolised; another among many heady days of 1994 was when newly-elected president Nelson Mandela stood at the podium of parliament in Cape Town to deliver his first address as head of state. Among many witnesses in the gallery was Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who at anti-apartheid rallies had led crowds from despair to exultation by leading them to cry out: “We are the Rainbow Nation of God”. It was an affirmation that a country’s people that deliberately had been fractured could be built into a nation – a nation that celebrated, rather than being crippled by, its diversity.

Democracy meant an end to isolation, and diplomatic and economic relations flourished immediately. New ties were built with many countries where in the past there had been only enmity, Bulgaria among them. Under apartheid, the only South Africans who found themselves in Bulgaria were political exiles. When the democratic changes came to Bulgaria, South Africa was among many countries to which Bulgarians chose to repatriate in the hope of better earnings, and, in some cases because the old South Africa had been strongly “anti-communist”.

Now, the number of Bulgarians in South Africa is estimated to be somewhere between 30 000 and 50 000 (hardly noticeable among a population of 47 million) while the number of South Africans in Bulgaria adds up to no more than a handful.

For the South African embassy here, the building up of economic relations is an important focus.

Asked whether Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union in January 2007 brought a dividend because of South Africa’s existing free trade agreement with the EU, Visser says that trade had been going up since 2003, although at 50 million euro it is still far below its potential. The trade balance is in favour of South Africa; imports from South Africa add up to 38 million euro.

“The embassy is trying very hard to promote trade and tourism.” Cape Town is regularly in the top five list of tourism destinations in the world. The strength of the euro against the rand makes South Africa a reasonably priced destination for European tourists.

South Africa’s globally-respected wines, which have scooped international awards time and again over the decades, have made it into the Bulgarian market to an extent and been favourably received but are “up against stiff competition from the Bulgarian wines, which are very good,” says Visser, who comes from Stellenbosch, the heart of one of the Western Cape province’s wine-producing areas. In March, South Africa again was represented at Vinaria, the annual wine expo in Plovdiv, one of three annual fairs in which it regularly participates, the other two being the Autumn Fair and the Food and Drink Festival in Sofia.

Other imports into Bulgaria from South Africa include various foodstuffs such as corn and maizemeal, fruit – which also has to compete against established imports from north African and central American countries – and coal. From Bulgaria, South Africa imports a small range of specialist components such as motor vehicle parts. “There’s huge room for improvement,” Visser says.

A major challenge in the face of improving trade and tourism is the absence of direct flights. In the first few years of the changes towards democracy, the now-defunct Balkan Airlines flew Sofia-Johannesburg. The flight was a popular choice for South Africans to get to the rest of Europe via Sofia on tickets cheaper than those sold by major airlines, and about 2000 South Africans a year came to Bulgaria per se for holidays.

Currently, South Africa and Bulgaria have no reciprocal visa-free agreement, and the South African embassy processes about 1500 visa applications a year from Bulgarians. Visser hopes that South African Airways, which has a large fleet of wide-bodied jets and code-sharing agreements with major airlines, can be persuaded to start direct flights to, if not Bulgaria, any destination close to it in South Eastern Europe.

“South Africa is more well-known in Bulgaria than Bulgaria in South Africa. Here, South Africa is known as a beautiful country, as a tourist destination that people want to visit, people know about the wines, and they know South Africa as a democratic country.”

Mutual awareness may get a boost this year, given that Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov has said that there are plans for him to visit South Africa. The date for the visit is to be conveyed by South Africa’s foreign ministry to the Bulgarian embassy in Pretoria.

In recent years, bilateral agreements signed include a treaty on the avoidance of double taxation, and a sports co-operation agreement, with State Agency for Youth and Sport chairperson Vessela Lecheva signing for Bulgaria. Visser describes this latter agreement as very welcome for the opportunity for South Africa to benefit from Bulgarian know-how in coaching and training youth and future athletes.

Having already successfully hosted the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and (with Kenya and Zimbabwe) the 2003 Cricket World Cup, South Africa will make it a hat trick in 2010 by hosting the Football World Cup. South Africa’s government is putting 17.4 billion rands (about 1.4 billion euro) in direct investment in infrastructure for the Football World Cup, part of an overall 400 billion rands (33 billion euro) 2006/10 budget for infrastructure, including rail freight services, energy production, communications, airports and ports of entry. (For more information, visit sa2010.gov.za). While he is aware that there has been some negative reporting about preparations for the event, Visser says that he has no doubt South Africa will prove a success in hosting the Cup.

Comparisons are odious... But here they are anyway:

South Africa
GDP (PPP) 298.75 bn euro (2007)
GDP  175.31 bn euro   (2007)
GDP growth  5 per cent (2007)
GDP per capita
(PPP)   6769 euro (2007)
Unemployment 24.2 per cent
Exports 45.67 bn euro (2007)
Budget
Expenditure/revenue
42.59 bn euro/43.54 bn euro               

Bulgaria
55.41 bn euro (2007)
24.95 bn euro (2007)
6.1 per cent (2007)
7535 euro (2007)
8 per cent
12.61 bn euro (2007)
9.69 bn euro/10.61 bn euro