Neil Bush is an American businessman, investor and son of the 41st US President George W. Bush. He is the brother of President George W. Bush Jr. He is the founder and chairman of the “George Bush Foundation for US-China Relations“ – an initiative focused on dialogue between the two superpowers.
At a time of the lowest point in trade relations between Washington and Beijing, Neil Bush continues to work with Chinese companies.
This week he arrived in Sofia to participate in an energy forum dedicated to rare earths.
He spoke to Svetoslav Ivanov on the show “120 Minutes“ about the Middle East, China and the border between business and politics.
“He is definitely a pacifist – he does not want American troops to be involved and engaged in military conflicts – be it in Gaza, Iran or Ukraine“ – that is how he defined Donald Trump's policy.
However, this allows people like Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin to display unlimited aggression, Neil Bush believes. And “America's withdrawal from world affairs leads to too much death, too much conflict“.
He also commented on the United States' intervention in the conflict between Iran and Israel.
“If Iran abandons the idea of developing nuclear weapons, it will create an atmosphere in the region in which Israel will feel more secure and the US commitment to Israel will bring full benefits for the sake of the country's security. But if it doesn't work (the truce between Iran and Israel - ed.), if Iran rises up, driven by nationalism, to defend its identity and honor, and starts creating conflicts, this could escalate things in a way that will be very bad for the world, not just for the region“.
The crisis in the Middle East affects Iran – the fourth country in the world in terms of oil reserves and the second in terms of gas reserves, which carries out a large part of its exports to the world through the Strait of Hormuz.
„If the strait is closed by Iran, this will, of course, affect supplies. And there is daily demand for oil and natural gas that depends on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, so, yes - it will have a huge impact on the price of oil if such a drastic situation comes to pass, but I don't think it will come to that“, Neil Bush also said.
And he specified:
„It takes a long time to find concentrated deposits that can be extracted economically. Extraction requires breaking up rock - it is extremely expensive and energy-intensive, processing also takes time. So the path from discovery to the realization of rare earth resources in Ukraine is long. By the way, I think that Bulgaria will also have enough of these elements. We need geological exploration, more drilling, a deeper understanding. Rare earth elements can also be found in coal, and there is a lot of coal here, so it is not just about Ukraine. But the exploitation of these resources will take a long time before they reach the market, that is a simple fact“.
Neil Bush stated that among the US partners in our country are Hristo Kovachki, whom he described as an “honest person“ and Tsvetelina Borislavova. He explained that both of them have been thoroughly vetted and that “when you are in a high position in business circles in Bulgaria, you often become the subject of attacks“.
“He (Kovachki – ed.) is a smart businessman with a leading position in the sectors in which he has chosen to invest. I have also met his children – "They are both remarkable, smart, balanced young people, that's also telling. I think he's a good guy and I would stand behind him any day," he assured.