site.btaBulgarian Export to Japan Expected to Exceed Lv 57 Bln in 2019

January 23 (BTA) - Deputy Economy Minister Alexander
Manolev said at the opening of a Bulgarian-Japanese business
forum here that Bulgarian export is expected to exceed 57 billion
leva, his press office reported on Wednesday.

The forum included Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria Masato
Watanabe, InvestBulgaria Agency Executive Director Stamen Yanev,
 Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency
Executive Director Boyko Takov, and Bulgarian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Vice-President Georgi Stoev. Among the
participants was a Japanese business delegation led by Satoshi
Abe, General Director of the Japan External Trade Organization
(JETRO) Vienna office.

The event was organised by Manolev and Watanbe who discussed it
at a working meeting in December 2018 as part of an action plan
for activating economic relations between the two countries that
 was signed in mid 2018.

Manolev noted that in the past year Bulgarian-Japanese economic
relations have been seriously activated. Participants assessed
as very successful the business forum that took place in
Bulgaria in June 2018 with over 30 Japanese companies.

Manolev focused on the economic results that Bulgaria has
achieved and on some of the best developing sectors of Bulgarian
 economy. He also called for the launch of more
Bulgarian-Japanese business joint projects.

Manolev and Abe had a bilateral meeting where they negotiated a
joint organisation of at least one more business forum by the
end of the year and coordinated efforts for more joint projects
between business companies of both countries. Manolev said that
JETRO is planning to expand its presence in Bulgaria. A number
of Japanese companies are already successfully developing in
Bulgaria, and JETRO helps them expand their activities and
increase their EU export.

Satoshi Abe noted that 2018 was a special year, as it was the
first time a Japanese Prime Minister visited Bulgaria, while
Japan welcomed high-level Bulgarian delegations. Concerning
bilateral relations, Abe noted that 2019 will be the significant
 year that marks the 110th anniversary of the beginning of
bilateral contacts, the 80th anniversary of the establishment of
 diplomatic relations and the 60th anniversary of the resumption
 of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Abe also
intends to establish a committee for celebrating the "three
anniversaries" in 2019. LY/TH


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