Bulgaria is a country of long history, an old culture and experience in the relations with its neighbours

H.E. Mr. Harald Kindermann, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bulgaria

On September 29-30, H.E. Mr. Harald Kindermann, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bulgaria, undertook a journey in the company of journalists from the Bulgarian media. The aim was to show the journalists some support projects funded by the Federal Republic of Germany through the Technical Cooperation Association in Sofia. Along with its representative functions the journey had to acquaint the Ambassador with the Bulgarian journalists. The group visited the Economy Support Centre in the town of Lovech and the wine cellar and vineyards in Evksinograd.

Your Excellency, first we would like to learn more about the aim and the reasons for your touring the country with Bulgarian journalists in September this year.
I think there were three reasons for this initiative. First, I wanted to be better informed about Bulgaria. And when you are touring the country you need a guide, and I think Bulgarian journalists are perfect guides to your country. Secondly, we had a lot of time, we spent two days together and we had the opportunity to have a lot of private talks, which is very useful and good for the relations and also for information. And thirdly, I wanted to show to the journalists that Germany is not only active in the capital city but that we have many projects in the countryside, in small villages. I wanted to show them that we are trying to bring modern technology and equipment, education, vocational training to the broad Bulgaria and that we are not only concentrating on Sofia.

We know that you have been very active in promoting not only Germany in Bulgaria but also Bulgaria in Germany. What are we to expect in the nearest future, what are the concrete initiatives of the Embassy in this respect?
Of course, promoting Bulgaria in Germany is the main task of the Bulgarian Embassy in Berlin and of my new colleague Mrs. Plugchieva. We have perfect relations and just now we are meeting several times to deal with all the issues we have in common. Normally I have to take care of the relations here and the Bulgarian Ambassador has to do this in Germany. But in our times there is a mix. And therefore I try to promote a little bit Bulgaria in Germany. Next there will be a conference in the first days of January and I will deliver a speech at the Foreign Office in Berlin. We will address the business community to make Bulgaria popular. I’ll have several meetings and lectures in Germany and I will see German investors interested in Bulgaria, because sometimes the investors want some preliminary information before they really make a trip. This is what we are doing and, of course, a major job of the Embassy is to work together with the Chamber of Commerce – just today in the morning a conference was opened to promote small and medium-sized companies in Sofia. And mostly we are active here in Bulgaria.

You have been Ambassador in Sofia for one year now. Do you think that during your mandate Bulgaria has grown to be more popular in Germany and do you think that the idea German people have about our country is a correct one?
It is difficult to say if they have a real idea because I am not sure if I have a real idea of Bulgaria myself. Nowadays a lot of Germans gain first-hand impressions when they come as tourists to the Black Sea. I am very happy that even in Bansko, in Borovets or in Melnik and in Sofia we see more and more German groups visiting the country and therefore they have a broader view of Bulgaria. But, of course, tourists are only looking at nature and the highlights of culture. They do not see the industrial sites and therefore touring the country can never give you a full picture. This is why the media are of vital importance. And I am happy that more and more reports of Bulgaria appear on television and in German newspapers and this is definitely helpful. Most important, however, is that in the last year we had a lot of high-rank visits – President Parvanov and Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg-Gotha have been in Germany and the German Chancellor was here as well as the Minister of Finance and other delegations, and this is very useful because these visits are covered by the media and they make the political class aware. Concerning the German Chancellor, ever since his very successful visit in Sofia he has been promoting Bulgaria because he was so much impressed and in Berlin in a lot of meetings the Chancellor is referring to Bulgaria as a new member of the EU and a very impressive successful country. And this is how it definitely helps.

You doubtlessly came to Bulgaria with certain expectations. And now, one year later have these expectations been justified?
I had personal expectations about my personal life and they were all justified. As regards my professional expectations – I think they were justified, too. I knew that Bulgaria was a country in transition and would become a member of NATO – and now this is already a fact. And in my opinion you will very soon join the European Union. What was new to me was that I was not so aware of the speed of development. Of course, I had the idea Bulgaria was a country developing, but the speed of the development was unexpected. And this is a new experience for me.

You spoke about the broader view foreigners should get of our country and it seems that what investors see and what tourists see are two completely different things. So, could you formulate two separate messages: one to the German citizens visiting our country as guests and another to the businessmen interested in making investments in Bulgaria?
The problem with globalisation is that a lot of people have only a narrow view of the world or of the countries. For example, there are a lot of people from my country who go to the nice beaches in the Far East, but they never go to South Korea and they never go to Japan or the industrial cities. This means that their picture is not correct. In order to understand globalisation you should see these places. Only a very small group of people have been to these locations. And the business people are normally not looking at culture and nature and therefore both groups are blind with one eye. This gets in the way of globalisation. And our job is to make Germany see Bulgaria with both eyes and vice versa. Therefore we need the experience of the tourists and we need the experience of the investors and we need the experience of all groups of civil society – students, scientists, politicians, mayors, governors, everybody – only this gives a full picture. Therefore my main job is to encourage people from all parts of society – hunters, fishermen, archeologists, painters, artists to build up relations because they all have their own experience. Like in a painting, they all give just one inch of the total picture. Therefore diplomacy nowadays means to address the full range of bilateral relations and not only political, cultural or economic issues.

The message to the tourists is go out of the hotels, enjoy the country, make some tours and be not so much in favour of “all inclusive”, because “all inclusive” means that everything is over a special standard but a lot is not real Bulgarian. So, some days forget “all inclusive” and go to a Bulgarian restaurant and enjoy the real taste of the country.

And for investors – I think they should always be aware that Bulgaria is a country of a long history, an old culture and special experience with its neighbours, with special experiences in the region. And, of course, these are the foundations of present-day Bulgaria and investors need to understand the country, because understanding the country means to understand the people and as an investor you will have to work with your partners, workers, with everybody and you must understand them. So I think for the investors it is very important to try to understand a little bit the soul of the country. So they should too be a little bit aware of the nature, of the culture. You were just so kind to give me this disk of Orthodox Chants. I will hear them especially for Christmas. They are so different from other music we have in Western Europe and through them you can also get an impression of the spirit of the country.

In your busy everyday routine, do you manage to find time for your hobby – photography?
I try to find time for my hobby. In the summer I had a lot of spare time and I made many pictures. Now in the last three months I have been very busy but, thank God, my schedule is becoming better and better. I think I will have two weeks free.

Even as a diplomat you have to try to get an approach to the soul of the country. In Saudi Arabia, where I was posted before, I made a lot of photos of palm trees because it is the state symbol of Saudi Arabia and you cannot understand the country without the palm trees. As a photographer, making these hundreds and even thousands of photographs, all the time you get closer to this important symbol not only of the state but of the way of life in Saudi Arabia. So, even as a diplomat you need something to get closer to the spirit of the country – by learning Bulgarian, by being an artist, by walking, by cooking. But you need a very individual and personal approach and I try to have my own approach too, as everybody.

Maria Totomanova