We take pride in the effective trade and economic cooperation with Germany. Bulgaria considers these relations a priority, which are strategically important for Bulgaria. This is what Head of State Rosen Plevneliev said at the joint Bulgarian-German business forum titled “Industry 4.0”, which the Bulgarian President opened together with the Federal President of Germany Joachim Gauck.
The Federal Republic is the biggest trade market for Bulgaria and is always among the leading strategic investors in Bulgaria. In only three years – from 2012 onwards – the bilateral trade has increased by 1.3 billion euros and reached 6.3 billion euros in 2015. 5,000 German companies are active on the Bulgarian market and 1,200 of them have their representations in Bulgaria.
“We should lend an ear to the business and understand that in the current difficult times the business has to make hard and responsible decisions and should therefore be supported. Today innovations are the currency we measure the prosperity of the nations with,” the Bulgarian President told almost 100 representatives of Bulgarian and German companies. President Plevneliev recalled that the institutions are called upon to create favorable conditions for the development of the business. “This means that we should establish eco-systems in which science, business and the institutions work together on ideas so that they could be transformed into new projects and products,” the Head of State said.
Bulgaria is the appropriate place to hold the debate on the regional aspects of the new industrial revolution, President Rosen Plevneliev said and highlighted the advantages of Southeastern Europe and the serious potential the region has to develop innovations.
“Partnership and cooperation are the key words. However, the good tax environment and the low labor costs are not enough,” the Head of State added. “The business needs more well-prepared cadres. The education and administrative reforms should be speeded up. Dual education should be more widespread – it is not necessary that everyone has a university degree in order to have a good and worthy job,” the President emphasized.
The Head of State highlighted Bulgaria’s and the region’s advantages for the foreign investors and said that an increasing number of international companies open their development centers in Bulgaria. “Thus the talented Bulgarian specialists will remain here and the international companies, including the German ones, will optimize their costs,” Rosen Plevneliev further said and gave as an example the outsourcing industry, the ICT sector and the car industry.
“We are conducting harsh and responsible reforms in the spheres of justice, education, healthcare, administration and we are working to ensure really independent and functioning regulators. They should show the business that there are rules in Bulgaria and that everyone should observe them,” the Head of State further said.
Bulgaria has a potential it should take advantage of by removing the brakes to the economic growth, the Federal President of Germany Joachim Gauck told representatives of the business circles from both countries. The German President recalled that the main prerequisite for the successful economic development of every country is the rule of law, the predictable legal environment, “clear and comprehensive” rules for fighting corruption.
“In the past 25 years Bulgaria showed that it can achieve success – it conducted structural reforms as a result of which it achieved sustainable economic growth until the crisis in 2008 and a low unemployment rate. Currently Bulgaria is coming back once again to this road,” President Joachim Gauck said. Despite all that, the appraisal of the German business is that the Bulgarian economy is still developing below its potential. The modernization of the infrastructure, the stability of the judiciary and fighting corruption are the main prerequisites for ensuring more German investors in Bulgaria, Joachim Gauck further pointed out.