Erhard Busek will use an invitation by the Bulgarian President Petar Stojanow to Sofia to establish his first contact with the Bulgarian Government in his new capacity as Stability Pact Co-ordinator. He will meet Foreign Minister Solomon Passi and other Government officials on 15 January 2002. Together with former US Ambassador Richard Schifter, Erhard Busek will be honoured by Bulgarian President Stojanow for their merits in the framework of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), of which Busek has been Co-ordinator for the last five years. As of 1 January 2002, Erhard Busek, a former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, succeeded Bodo Hombach as Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe.