Foreign investors need to see that Bulgaria has a functioning market economy in order to feel that their investment will be safe here, said Halard Glahn, state secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Transport, Farming and Viniculture of the German Rheinland-Pfalz province on Tuesday. He headed a German business delegation, which was on a three-day visit to Sofia.

The main objective of their third visit to Bulgaria, said Glahn, was to deepen existing contacts between Bulgarian and German companies and create new ones. He added that the German side is interested in the economic policy of the new Bulgarian government - the new priorities, the measures that are in the tube and the timetable for improving the domestic investment climate.

A business forum was held during the visit. Glahn met with Regional Development Minister Kostadin Paskalev and Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev.

Bulgaria can attract over $5 billion in foreign investment by 2005 and a quarter of that amount could come from Germany, said Vassilev after meeting with the German delegation. It is possible that German investment could triple in the next few years but that could only happen with the arrival of an investor like Deutsche Telekom, said Vassilev. The Economy Ministry will continue to pay special attention to Germany as Bulgaria's biggest trade partner and the biggest investor here, he added.

At the meeting, Deputy Economy Minister Lyubka Kachakova, proposed that a Day of Bulgarian Economy be organized in Rheinland-Pfalz so that local businesses could acquaint themselves with Bulgaria's investment climate. The German guests proposed close co-operation between the encouragement banks of Rheinland-Pfalz and Bulgaria.