site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian, Macedonian Companies Sign Contracts Worth EUR 3 Mln-plus during Bilateral Business Forum in Skopje

Companies of Bulgaria and North Macedonia Wednesday signed cooperation agreements worth more than EUR 3 million at the beginning of an economic forum held in Skopje. Participating in the event are more than 150 business representatives of the two countries, officials of chambers of commerce and state institutions. 

Paragon Urban Winery, Movino Winery and Lazar Winery signed contracts for the purchase of equipment and technology for the wine industry with the Bulgarian company Pim Ltd of Haskovo, which specializes in this field. The contracts are worth EUR 750,000, EUR 800,000 and EUR 600,000 respectively.

An agreement was also concluded between the Macedonian company NICOB Provision and Phoenix Air Special Ltd. for supply of specialized hybrid vehicles worth EUR 900,000.

The forum was opened by Foreign Ministers Bujar Osmani and Minister Nikolay Milkov, who stressed the importance of connectivity between the two countries in a number of areas. Osmani stressed that trade between the two countries is growing steadily. Milkov said that the Skopje forum aims to enhance existing business contacts and create new ones. 

Representatives of chambers of commerce and industry and business associations from Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia stressed the importance of addressing specific issues that hinder bilateral business activity.

Plamen Pavlov, Chairman of the Bulgarian-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, brought up the idea of introducing one-stop-shop border checkups to facilitate border crossing. Boyko Takov, Executive Director of Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency, highlighted the common problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in both countries, as well as their mutual interests. He pointed out the potential for cooperation in the IT sector and high-tech industries, as well as in joint training so as to alleviate the common problem of shortage of personnel.