site.btaBulgaria, UAE Sign Economic Cooperation Agreement

Bulgaria, UAE Sign Economic Cooperation Agreement

Sofia, October 12 (BTA) - The Economy Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UEA), Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, and his Bulgarian counterpart Bozhidar Loukarski signed in Sofia on Wednesday a cooperation agreement aimed at boosting economic ties and bilateral trade.

Next year should be special for the relations between Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "We hope that in 2017 our states will be connected by a regular air route because building commercial relations depends mostly on the communication between them," Saeed Al Mansouri said at a bilateral business forum in Sofia attended by Loukarski.

Saeed Al Mansouri highlighted among other topics the food supply security in the Arab region and especially in the UAE. "We are desert states and we depend mostly on food imports but there should be tax-free investment in agriculture and food production," the official said.

The UAE Minister noted that some of Bulgaria's neighbors - for example, Romania, as well as countries further afield, have already notched up significant achievements in that respect. "I believe we should make certain headway today in that respect," Saeed Al Mansouri said.

In his view, small states like UAE and Bulgaria could be competitive internationally in innovation-related fields.

Loukarski said Bulgaria is striving to develop innovation-based manufacturing with a high value added while the country's economic policy attaches priority to the development of high-tech production and services. "I am convinced that there is potential for the development of cooperation with the UAE in these two sectors," the Bulgarian Minister said, voicing his satisfaction with the high trade turnover between the two states.

"Bulgaria is ready to support UAE firms to invest in sectors where they traditionally have the edge and in such that generate high value added and enhance the competitiveness of the economy like machine-building, electronics, automobile assembly, information and communication technology, electrical engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food production, creation of industrial zones and high-tech parks," Loukarski said.