German investments in Bulgaria, and ways to increase them, were discussed by President Rosen Plevneliev and Professor Hans Driftman, president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. The President expressed his support for further German investment in Bulgaria and looks forward to active economic development both in Bulgaria and the entire region.
Bulgaria has and will continue to have the support of Germany and German business, which sees huge potential in the country, Professor Driftman said during his talks with President Plevneliev. Driftman said that the future of Bulgaria is in the creation of clusters in the field of engineering, particularly in the motor vehicle industry, but also in the fields of high technology and agriculture.
President Plevneliev reiterated that the Investment Promotion Act will be amended to improve the framework conditions for doing business in Bulgaria. Bulgaria needs strategic partners such as Germany for the implementation of key projects, he said. The President underlined that the country needs to change the approach of public spending. Priority should be given to strategic projects that will serve as a platform for doing business.
Bilateral trade had reached a new peak, and in the current conditions, that was a very good message, Professor Driftman said after the meeting. There were indeed many other options and Bulgaria is “an anchor of security and stability” in the region, making the country attractive to investors, Driftman said. In recent years, German small and medium business has orientated itself towards Eastern and South Eastern Europe and the German Association of Chambers of Commerce Association predicts that this trend would continue. More than 3.6 million small and medium-sized businesses are members of the Association, and according to its president, needed the support of the Bulgarian administration for effective exchange of experience and information between the Bulgarian authorities and representatives of German business.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the President of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Bertram Rollmann, said that the German economy was paying particular attention to Bulgaria as an investment destination. Despite the very good framework conditions, however, foreign business is still experiencing difficulties with legislation produced hastily and that was poorly thought through, Rollman said. Honest competition, overcoming of bureaucratic hurdles for businesses, improving the chances for training and education of young people and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly important for German business, he said.
At the meeting with President Plevneliev, representatives of German business praised his personal efforts to promote bilateral business relations between Bulgaria and Germany. Professor Driftman’s visit to Bulgaria, at the invitation of the President, was agreed on during the President’s official visit to Germany at the beginning of July 2012. The President’s visit to Berlin resulted in strengthened bilateral business exchanges. In the coming months, Bulgaria will receive two delegations, on transport infrastructure and traffic management.