South Korean prime minister Han Myeong-sook is on a two-day visit to Bulgaria to sign an agreement for defence co-operation and investment encouragement.

Sofia will also host a Bulgarian-Korean business forum with representatives from Samsung Electronics, Korean Telecom and Hyundai Information Technology, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported.

After her meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, Myeong-sook said that by 2010 the trade interactions between the two countries would reach $ one billion. In 2005 the exchange of commodities produced nearly $ 200 million but both prime ministers agreed that this was below the business potential of the two countries.

Stanishev said that it was important for Bulgaria to attract serious Korean investors. The Economy and Energy Ministry has already started exploring investment opportunities and has began talks with some of the leading Korean companies.

Bulgaria and Korea agreed that the most promising economic co-operation sectors were telecommunications, infrastructure development and electronics. Korean companies have already shown interest in investing in these branches, BNR said.