The Bulgarian and Albanian Chambers of Commerce and Industry will strengthen the dialogue between them so as to seek new business partnerships which will considerably exceed the current level of the economic trade between the two countries. This is what became clear at a meeting held between President Rosen Plevneliev and representatives of the business circles in Tirana, where the Head of State is on a two-day official visit.
Banking and tourism are the sectors in which results have already been achieved. Although the bilateral trade grew by 13 percent in 2013, “our aim is to develop this trend and to expand the cooperation in the energy, transport infrastructure and pharmaceutical sectors,” the President said. According to the representatives of the Albanian companies, despite its not large territory, Albania has a beautiful coastline, oil fields, metals and rich water resources, which creates favorable conditions for attracting more investments in the country.
Agriculture and food production is another strategic sector in which Bulgarian and Albanian companies can establish successful partnerships. “In both countries agriculture is developing on ecologically clean areas and this creates conditions for producing a high economic effect,” Rosen Plevneliev commented. The Head of State reiterated that although our country has established traditions in the export of agriculture products to the Middle East countries, it cannot meet the demands for more foodstuff. “It is precisely in this sphere that we should strive to cooperate and export a common product to third countries,” the President said.
The participants in the meeting shared the opinion that the process of integration of the West Balkan countries and their connection to united Europe will create a new image of the region. The European integration is the result of the investments made in the development of modern infrastructure, which encourages the communication between the countries. Without communication they are doomed to historical misunderstandings, the Albanian business thinks. Therefore Sofia and Tirana should ensure European funding and speed up the implementation of the Pan-European transport corridor No. 8, which will connect Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania through a highway and a high-speed railroad. Having a strategic location, the corridor will connect Europe with the Middle East and the countries from the Black Sea region, the representatives of the Albanian companies further pointed out.
The security of the electricity supplies was also debated during the meeting. Rosen Plevneliev said that Bulgaria produces three times more electricity than it consumes and this makes it possible for our country to export great amounts of electricity at competitive prices to South-Eastern Europe.
In his statement made at the meeting, the Head of State was adamant that the level of trade between Bulgaria and Albania should reach the level of an intensive political dialogue between the two states. “The authorities both in Sofia and Tirana clearly realize their responsibility to secure the necessary conditions for implementing successful business initiatives. However, we also rely on the initiative of the entrepreneurs,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
Late on 16 January Presidents Rosen Plevneliev and Bujar Nishani saw an exhibition dedicated to 100 years since the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations in the National Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tirana. The Heads of State attended a concert of the Bulgarian ensemble Sredets and the Albanian National Song and Dance Ensemble, which was held on the occasion of the anniversary.
Among the most valuable exponents at the exhibition were documents about the life of the Bulgarians in the town of Skodra in 1924, as well as about the accreditation of the first diplomatic representative of Kingdom Bulgaria at the Albanian government. The original documents and photos included in the exhibition are part of the Central State Archive of Albania.