The Minister for Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov and Chris Barton, His Majesty’s British Trade Commissioner for Europe, discussed intensifying trade relations and investment between the two countries. Barton leads a team at the UK Department for International Trade based in 34 countries. He is visiting Bulgaria to promote the increasingly close British-Bulgarian economic relationship and the creation of new business opportunities. At the meeting, which was held at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Bulgaria H. Е. Rob Dixon.
The excellent trade and economic relations between the two countries were highlighted, pointing out that there is great potential for development and investment opportunities in priority high-tech sectors with high added value in the field of innovation, technology, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy.
Minister Bogdanov pointed out that the United Kingdom is one of our country’s important trading partners, and over the past five years trade between the two countries has grown by 50%, reaching record highs.
The Minister for Economy and Industry assured that the Bulgarian government is working for a stable and predictable business and investment environment and that concrete actions are being taken to fight corruption and ensure transparent processes for business.
Another focus of the talks was Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone, Schengen and the OECD. Minister Bogdanov pointed out that our country has met all the criteria for the Schengen area and that Bulgaria’s membership in Schengen is also key for foreign investors in Bulgaria. In his words on the euro area, our country is getting closer to meeting the last criterion related to inflation, as this is confirmed by the statistics data, which show that in February it continues to slow down and reaches 3.3% on an annual basis, the lowest since mid-2021.
‘We are actively working to create favourable conditions for investors, including the construction of prepared industrial sites with ready infrastructure for specific sectors’, Bogdanov pointed out and gave the example that three new zones are being worked on — near Sofia, Varna and Stara Zagora. He also pointed out that the way Bulgaria treats priority investment projects has changed and now direct funding is provided to these projects, especially in high added value industries, as this funding is tailored to the region in which the investment is made.
The Minister for Economy pointed out that one of the leading priorities of the ministry is securing new markets for Bulgarian businesses. ‘Our efforts are aimed at diversifying Bulgarian exports and promoting exports of higher value-added products with partners outside the EU, given the recession in some of our traditional partners in the Union’.
Bogdanov stressed that Bulgaria has transformed its economy and is no longer an outsourcing destination, but is becoming one of the best destinations for high value-added manufacturing and technology in Southeast Europe. In his words, we already have technology companies that are globally recognized in areas such as ICT, aerospace, logistics and artificial intelligence, giving the example of the first of its kind in Eastern Europe Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology, based in Bulgaria — INSAIT.