At a meeting with representatives of the business circles in Kiev President Rosen Plevneliev called on for developing the partnership between Bulgaria and Ukraine in the industries of the future and high-tech production. The meeting took place in the Trade and Industry Chamber in the capital of Ukraine and was attended by more than 150 entrepreneurs.
“Not only Ukraine, but also Bulgaria have a many-year tradition in the applied and engineer sciences, which is applied in industries important for our two countries. Bulgaria will continue to pursue a closer cooperation in this sector, which will contribute to exchanging experience and a more intensive development of our economies and achieving a higher economic growth,” President Plevneliev said.
The Head of State highlighted that our country welcomes Ukrainian investors in the production of high-tech products. “I believe that we have a broad field of cooperation in this sector,” President Plevneliev said at the business forum. According to statistics, the largest share of Ukrainian investments in Bulgaria is in the real estate sector. “We should shift the focus onto the industries of the future. Bulgaria is doing its best to become a regional technological hub,” the Bulgarian Head of State further said. The President also considers the construction of roads and ferry boat facilities to achieve greater connectivity as potential spheres of economic development.
The Head of State highlighted Bulgaria’s and Ukraine’s common interests in the energy sector as creating opportunities for strengthening cooperation. “The two countries strive to ensure energy independence, therefore the diversification of natural gas supplies, creating new energy connections and integrating the energy networks is an important sphere in which Bulgaria and Ukraine can cooperate,” the President said.
The Head of State pointed out that the Bulgarian companies show an interest in the high-tech sector, food production and medicines. The business circles have been investing in Ukraine for years, 200 enterprises with Bulgarian capital are functioning in the country, 67 of which are representative offices of Bulgarian companies. The amount of Bulgarian investments is worth 23 million US dollars, mainly in the industrial sector, transport and trade.
The Head of State presented Bulgaria’s advantages as an attractive business destination, among which are the well prepared specialists, the low tax rates, the favorable macroeconomic indicators. “Bulgaria’s EU accession had a favorable impact on the business climate in the country, and we continue to pursue policies of encouraging investments in compliance with the major aims of the Europe 2020 strategy, a speeded up provision of administrative services and encouragement of investments in the high added value sectors such as information technologies, outsourcing, electronics and electrical engineering, chemical and pharmaceutical industry and food production,” the President said.
The Head of State highlighted the key importance of Ukraine in the tourism sector. “More than 250,000 Ukrainian tourists visit the Bulgarian resorts per year,” Rosen Plevneliev said and emphasized that liberalizing the visa regime for Ukraine will open up new opportunities for attracting more tourists.
The opportunities for strengthening the economic ties were highlighted at the meeting held between President Rosen Plevneliev and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenuyk and the Chairman of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Volodimir Groysman.
An agreement was reached to hold the 7th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine in Sofia and to exchange visits on the government and parliamentary level.