Bulgaria is in negotiations with German companies for more than BGN 200 million of new investments and confirmations from some of those companies are expected within days, caretaker Economy and Industry Minister Nikola Stoyanov told journalists here on Friday, following a meeting with representatives of German businesses in Bulgaria under the new Breakfast with Investors initiative. The meeting was organized with the support of the German Embassy in Sofia and the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and was held at Sofia's Central Military Club.
In Stoyanov’s words, so far, the German cumulative investments in Bulgaria are close to EUR 4 billion and the jobs created by German companies in Bulgaria are approximately 35,000.
A similar meeting has already been held with Austrian business representatives in Bulgaria. The Breakfast with Investors initiative, launched by Stoyanov in early October, is intended to improve the business climate and promote investment for foreign companies in this country. Its aim is for foreign businesses in Bulgaria to have direct and regular contact with the economy minister. In an informal setting, the forum will discuss the problems that companies face and their potential plans for expanding their projects. Similar meetings are planned with US and French business representatives, as well, Stoyanov added.
"Our economic relations with Germany are developing great, it is our number one partner and this year the [Bulgarian-German] trade will exceed EUR 10 billion. There is high investment interest in our country from Germany. A survey among German companies shows that practically all of them are satisfied and interested in investing in the country [Bulgaria]. Here, German companies are working in industries such as mechanical engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, automobile manufacturing, among others," the minister emphasized.
Stoyanov recalled that earlier this week [on Tuesday] he attended the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of the most prestigious forums in the region. In his words, he saw great interest in Bulgaria there. "Apart from traditional industries such as manufacturing and energy, they [Saudis] are also interested in the IT sector and start-up environment. We also look for opportunities for new partnerships outside the EU, accounting for 80% of our trade," he added.
"The first direct flight between Bulgaria and Sauda Arabia will be performed on April 23, 2023. I hope we will start an advertising campaign there [Saudi Arabia] for Bulgaria as a tourist destination as early as January," the Economy Minister stressed.
"I spoke with representatives of a [Saudi] company that wants to invest in a large cow farm in Bulgaria. Currently, there is not enough milk in Europe and its price has risen fourfold in one year, but on the basis of this resource we can export cheese and kashkaval [a type of Bulgarian yellow cheese] to them [the Saudis]. They have already started exporting cheese to the [Arab] region under the brand name Bulgaria and they are also interested in our yoghurt," Stoyanov explained.
/PP/
news.modal.text
Nothing available