site.btaPresident Plevneliev: Bulgaria will Work For Faster, Successful Conclusion of EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement

President Plevneliev: Bulgaria will Work For Faster, Successful Conclusion of  EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement

Sao Paulo, February 3 (BTA) - On the third and last day of his official visit to Brazil, President Rosen Plevneliev stated that Bulgaria will work for a faster and successful conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. "We will not wait until the Bulgarian Presidency [of the EU Council] in 2018, we will act now," he said at the
opening of a Bulgarian-Brazilian business forum at the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) Wednesday.

The event was organized jointly by FIESP and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

FIESP President Paulo Skaf conferred the Order of Sao Paulo on President Plevneliev for his contributions in industry.

The Bulgarian head of State presented to the participants in the forum his country's advantages for business and investments. "We will pay attention to every Brazilian company, regardless of how big it is," he noted, adding that the partnership and cooperation with Brazil are of strategic importance.

Skaf said that they respect Bulgaria also as a EU Member State that has a serious role and influence in Europe, which could prove to be a strategic partnership for Brazil. "We think that being closer to Bulgaria will open the door to our entry on the EU market as a Mercosur member," the FIESP President said in the context of the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement.

He went on to say that Bulgaria is important to Brazil in terms of logistics, mentioning the country's ports. He underscored the importance of the Bulgarian delegation's visit, noting that the bilateral relations will now be more dynamic. "Our mutual investments are modest, I believe that these can be increased; the trade is also modest - we could buy and sell more on our markets," Skaf said. In his words, the Brazilian market is not familiar with the potential of the Bulgarian market and producers, and Bulgarian enterprises are probably not familiar with the Brazilian market's opportunities.

Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski told the 100 plus Brazilian companies attending the forum that Bulgarian companies from the high-tech sectors, such as electronics, ICT and electrical engineering, have the potential to offer products and services with a high value added on the Brazilian market, Loukarski's ministry reported.

Participating in the forum were representatives of 19 Bulgarian companies looking for specific opportunities on the Brazilian market.

Noting that the development of Bulgarian-Brazilian relations is a priority for his country, Loukarski recalled that this led to the restoration of Bulgaria's Service for Trade and Economic Matters in Sao Paulo in 2012.

Loukarski listed several sectors as offering good prospects for Bulgarian companies on the Brazilian market: electronics and electrical engineering; IT; engineering; civil, industrial and infrastructure construction; mining industry; agriculture; food industry; heating systems and installations; light industry; and other sectors. The Finance Minister invited the attending Brazilian companies to acquaint themselves with the investment conditions that Bulgaria offers as a preferred investment destination and an important transit centre between the markets of the EU, the Middle East, North Africa, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

On February 4 and 5, President Plevneliev will pay a visit to Argentina.

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Meeting with the Bulgarian community in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, President Rosen Plevneliev said that the introduction of e-voting will be a worthy gesture of the Bulgarian State towards its nationals around the world, Plevneliev's press secretariat reported. The community in Sao Paulo is the biggest Bulgarian one in Brazil.

The Bulgarian head of State praised and encouraged the patriotic activity of the Sunday school in Sao Paulo, which is the only Bulgarian school in South America. The Cultural and Educational Centre in Sao Paulo was established in 2009. It has 44 pupils in the 2015-2016 school year, including through distance learning and consultations.

BTA Special Correspondent Assen Boyadjiev contributed to this story.