By Mercy Gadia Adi
The Nigeria-Bulgaria Parliamentary Group Committee in the House of Representatives has promised to further build and strengthen the existing relationship between Nigeria and Bulgaria on the Parliamentary, diplomatic and business fronts.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable, Munachim Ikechi Alozie stated this while speaking in a keynote address at a farewell meeting with the outgoing Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Yanko Yordanov at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you to the first ever Partnership Exchange — a special side event of the send-forth of His Excellency, Ambassador Yanko Yordanov, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, in his four years of service here in Nigeria he has been able to visit 22 out of the 36 States of our country; And he has this to say about Nigeria: “Nigeria is not only the The Giant of Africa but also as a country with many giants, in terms of culture, heritage and opportunities.”
“And so, we have not come to bade him farewell but to celebrate one who by his intentional association, inclination and interaction have become one of us (Nigerian), who enjoys our meals specially.
“So, this gathering today is an innovative feature of the Nigeria/Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Group to build on the past years’ experience with Ambassador Yanko in Strengthening Bilateral Business ties between Bulgaria and Nigeria.
“I want to in a special way, formally recognize again the presence of Ambassador Yanko Yordanov (the Bulgarian Ambassador) and his delegation, knowing that the Partnerships between both our countries will continue, in Trade and Economic Cooperation, Education and human capital development, Agriculture and food Security, Health, Energy sector, Tourism etc. And we hope to continue in exchanging more initiative and ideas towards strengthening the cooperation between us.
“Our aspiration is to become a beacon and a point of reference in initiating, fostering and promoting sustainable partnerships and development, that are respectful, visible, measurable, responsible and mutually beneficial for both our countries.
“As part of our program we will be conducting a Trade Missions to both Bulgaria and Nigeria; And we already have one coming up soon. And | want to take this opportunity to invite you all to participate in the Investment, Tourism and Trade Mission to identify and explore partnership opportunities in Bulgaria from July 14th – 20th, 2025”.
Speaking to journalists after the event, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Yanko Yordanov said, being in the country as ambassador, he appreciated the strong ties between the two countries.
He said, Nigeria and Bulgaria have a mutually beneficial relationship spanning many decades and has led to cooperation in various fields of development which he said would be maintained and improved upon for the benefit of the two nations.
He said, “This is due mostly to our cooperation in the area of agriculture,in the area of business ties, leading to partnerships in the transportation and the infrastructure project.So we are very much looking forward to build upon what we have achieved.
“But of course, enlarging it, and I must say that we have a very good cooperation in the IT and high-tech technologies and the high-tech, so I’m sure that we will easily can identify new areas to build further on the progress that we have achieved already.
“The new emotion that I am feeling is, let’s say, the enthusiasm and satisfaction I see from the results.But I am very much looking forward to further cooperation between our two nations.You will see Bulgaria is also a very hospitable country and I am sure that both nations can easily find a way to continue”.