By : Professor Hassan Barmawi
Jordan Daily – Jordan is distinguished by its strong and solid relationship with the friendly Republic of Bulgaria, a relationship whose foundations were laid by His Majesty the King through repeated visits by Bulgarian and Jordanian officials.
The friendship committees in the Jordanian Senate and House of Representatives have helped to strengthen this strong relationship. As for the friendly Bulgarian people, they have always supported Jordan’s causes and the Palestinian cause. Successive Bulgarian governments, which are born from the Bulgarian Parliament, have opened great horizons for cooperation. Jordan is considered Bulgaria’s first Arab partner, serving as a gateway for Bulgarian trade with the Middle East due to Jordan’s state institutions, just governance, and the security and stability it enjoys. This is the assessment of Bulgarian authorities regarding Jordan’s monarchy, government, and people.
We should not forget the economic relations, particularly the export of high-quality phosphate to Bulgaria, and hopefully, potash will soon enter the Bulgarian market. Now, there is a need to strengthen land trade and open vegetable and fruit markets with Bulgaria, as the first European Union country, just as it was before. These promising markets, to which Jordan exported via Syria and Turkey, generated hundreds of millions of dinars before the Arab Spring and the war in Syria, up until 2011, when Jordan was the leading exporter of fruits and vegetables to Europe. Bulgaria has also provided financial support for purchasing food supplies for Gaza through Jordan Hashemite Charity Commission.
We are now anticipating a royal visit to the Republic of Bulgaria, where meetings with the Bulgarian side will hopefully advance joint cooperation. On the security and military level, continuous cooperation exists, with delegations from both sides visiting regularly and participation in the SOFEX military exhibition in Jordan and the HEMUS military exhibition in Bulgaria.
We are also looking forward to the visit of the Bulgarian Patriarch, with some parties working to finalize the arrangements for this visit, which had previously been invited but not yet carried out. Additionally, the Grand Mufti of the Republic of Bulgaria, Dr. Mustafa Hadji, visited Jordan and met with the Prime Minister. He is an alumnus of Yarmouk University and a key supporter of Jordanian-Bulgarian relations. During his visit, he also met with the King’s advisors at the Royal Court.
I have had the honor of meeting three Bulgarian presidents, foreign ministers, the Bulgarian Minister of Finance and his deputy, the Director-General of Bulgarian Customs, who visited Jordan, as well as the Bulgarian Auditor General and senior officials in the Republic of Bulgaria. They hold great respect, appreciation, love, and affection for Jordan, its wise leadership under His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen, Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah, and the Hashemite family, as well as the Jordanian people.
A new government was formed in Bulgaria just two days ago, receiving a relative majority vote from the political parties in the Bulgarian Parliament, allowing it to begin regular work as an elected government. Bulgaria has spent almost three years with a caretaker government, during which it underwent several parliamentary elections, with political parties failing to reach consensus for joint action. We now congratulate Bulgaria on its entry and full membership in the Schengen area.
I recall many political, parliamentary, and diplomatic figures I have worked with in the service of Jordanian-Bulgarian relations, including the late Bulgarian Minister of Higher Education. There are also agreements to support tourism between the two friendly countries, and we are awaiting the opening of a low-cost airline route between Jordan and Bulgaria. The Bulgarian people have a strong affection for Jordan as a beautiful tourist destination, with its world-renowned sites such as Petra, Aqaba, Wadi Rum, Jerash, Salt, Ajloun, and many other tourist attractions.
Finally, there is more to discuss after the war in Gaza concludes, God willing, and the Syrian market reopens, as the Jordanian economy is expected to thrive. We will once again see trade convoys passing through Syria to Turkey and then to Bulgaria and the Balkan countries, where Jordanian products are renowned for their global reputation in terms of price, quality, and value. We must not forget the current pragmatic and strong Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, who has been a pivotal and successful strategic figure. He led Bulgaria through this difficult period of caretaker governments, successfully balancing the country’s political situation and securing Bulgaria’s full membership in the Schengen area.
We look forward to the upcoming visit of the Chairman of the Jordanian-Bulgarian Friendship Committee to the Bulgarian Parliament, heading a parliamentary delegation. He has been newly elected for several terms as the Chairman of the Jordanian-Bulgarian Friendship Committee in the Jordanian Parliament.
Professor Hassan Barmawi is expert on Bulgarian and Balkan affairs and President of the Bulgarian-Jordanian Chamber for Economic Cooperation.
