35484 | 18 June 2025 | 15:20

What specific investment and development agreements have been signed

Adelina Deliyska

 GERB leader Boyko Borisov announced today that due to President Rumen Radev's frequent travels, the Bulgarian citizens in Israel were brought back on a commercial flight instead of the government plane. "Tomorrow Radev is leaving again, I heard. He came back last night and is leaving again. How am I supposed to know where he is going? I'm following the Airbus, because it can't land. He is constantly flying. As you noticed, we brought back the Bulgarians in Israel on a commercial flight. He is constantly flying, conducting international activities and providing great benefits for Bulgaria such as "Botash", commented Borisov in the Parliament corridors.

 Radev did not delay and immediately responded to Borisov: "The GERB leader's linking of the President's international program with the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from the State of Israel is cynical and untrue." The evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from the Middle East region is being carried out with diplomatic efforts by the presidential institution," stated the press office of the head of state.

 This has also brought the topic of foreign travel into the heated battle between the head of state and the leader of the largest political party in the country. However, it is important for Bulgarian taxpayers to know how their politicians are spending their money on these trips.

 And most importantly, what benefit does it bring to the country.

 In the past three months, the President Rumen Radev has made a tour to the following destinations, receiving standing ovations:

 On April 9, he arrived in Delphi, Greece, for the Delphic Economic Forum, accompanied by representatives from his own administration and select business representatives, about whom nothing is known or reported. There, Rumen Radev made a speech to the attendees and met with his Greek colleague - President Constantinos Tasoulas, as well as representatives from international organizations and businesses. He commented that "there is great interest in investing in Bulgaria", but cleverly shifted the blame by stating: "The Bulgarian Parliament does not respond to this interest."

  In short, there is no specific benefit for the Bulgarian people or the country from this trip.

 On April 29, Radev is in Warsaw, Poland for a meeting of the "Three Seas" forum. Prospects for promoting economic exchange and investments between Bulgaria and Poland are being discussed with representatives of the Polish-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. On the first day of his visit, Radev met with representatives of Polish and Bulgarian companies in the fields of transportation, energy, food and beverage industry, pharmaceuticals, defense, banking and insurance sector, who have a significant contribution to bilateral economic exchange or plan to invest in our country. There is no clarity on which Bulgarian businessmen accompanied Radev, as well as the specific agreements that were made.

 In short: there is no specific benefit for Bulgarians or the country from this trip.

 On May 18, Radev is already headed towards a faraway destination - he departed for the land of the rising sun, accompanied by his wife Desislava Radeva. Together with his team from the presidency, they will spend five days touring on the government's expenses with protocol meetings. The visit is declared as a representation of our country during the celebration of Bulgaria Day at EXPO Osaka 2025, where Japanese businesses and citizens who have shown interest will have the opportunity to learn about the culture, history and traditions of Bulgaria. It is unclear which Japanese businesses have shown interest in us, but as for the Japanese people - they love to visit the land of roses even without Radev. The audience of Radev with Emperor Naruhito is just a brief encounter - only 30 minutes, without any of the attributes of imperial power, during which the two will exchange pleasantries. Even Desislava Radev is not invited to the imperial chambers. A Declaration of Strategic Partnership between Bulgaria and Japan was signed with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. It is unclear who from the Bulgarian side signed the document, as there was no representative from the government. However, Radev declares that it is "an important symbol and a logical step in our bilateral relations." Recap: There is no concrete benefit for the Bulgarian people and the state from this trip.

 On June 9, the President will travel to Astana, Kazakhstan, and the delegation of the Bulgarian head of state includes "representatives from companies in the fields of innovation, industry, high technology, and defense, who will seek opportunities for expanding cooperation with companies from Kazakhstan." A list of these people has not been officially announced.

 Several documents were exchanged to deepen bilateral partnership, according to the presidency, but no details were provided. Thus, at this stage, we were unable to see any benefits for Bulgarians and the country from this trip.

 Just one day later, on June 10, President Radev flies to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, accompanied again by his own people from the administration and business, where some agreements and documents are signed with vague, ambiguous content in the future, but nothing clear and precise at the moment. "With President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, we signed a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation between Bulgaria and Uzbekistan." The document confirms the significant political, economic and cultural ties between our countries and takes into account the results achieved within the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Uzbekistan," another blanket statement from the presidency.

 Conclusion: There is no specific benefit for Bulgarians and the state from this trip.

 However, during the trip, President Rumen Radev gives a scandalous interview to CNN, in which he criticizes the government and the National Assembly.

 A few days later, on June 16, the head of state travels to Albania to participate in the Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the participating countries in the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). After the plenary session of the forum, the Bulgarian Head of State will symbolically accept the rotating presidency of the BSPC from the President of Albania, Bajram Begai. As it can be seen, this visit is of a representative nature.

 These are the trips abroad of President Rumen Radev from April to mid-June. It is impressive that Radev does not invite representatives of the government and the National Assembly with him, and the documents he claims to be signing are blank with no commitments. In addition, it is not announced anywhere which business people accompany him and what benefit their presence in the Bulgarian delegation brings. Radev does not invite and write journalists, who traditionally cover these issues. His trips are cut off with protocol shots from operators and reporters from TV channels, BTA and BNR.

 Therefore, the important questions regarding these trips of the state leader abroad are: - What is the real practical benefit for the country and the Bulgarians from these back-and-forth flights, apart from the representative presence of the President, of course.

 - What specific agreements for investments and development have been signed? It is presumed that this is not the best-kept state secret in our country and the benefits for the country and Bulgarian citizens can be clearly indicated.

 If there is not a clear answer from "Dondukov"2 regarding all of these important questions, one can reasonably say that the President is flying in vain, instead of sitting in vain...