Qatar will deposit $200 million at the Bulgarian Central bank as a guarantee it is serious about investing in the Balkan country, said the Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani.

'Today we agreed to deposit $200 million as a proof of our seriousness. We want to prove that you have long-term partners on which you can lean on,' Al-Thani told reporters on Thursday after signing an investment agreement with his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov.

Under the deal, cash-rich Qatar will invest 100 million euros ($127.08 million) in agriculture, tourism and infrastructure and other projects in Bulgaria -- the European Union's poorest member state -- for over a year.-Reuters