site.bta Sofia and Tokyo Chambers of Commerce to Promote Bilateral Business Contacts

Sofia and Tokyo Chambers of Commerce to Promote Bilateral Business Contacts

Tokyo/Sofia, May 13 (BTA) - A future memorandum of cooperation between the Sofia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) will promote contacts between Japanese companies and dynamic Bulgarian businesses, Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski said during talks with TCCI Secretary General and CEO Shoji Nishio in Tokyo, as reported by Loukarski's ministry on Friday.

The Economy Minister is paying a working visit to Japan between May 10 and 14, leading a delegation of representatives of 16 Bulgarian companies.

Nishio expressed his hope that Japan's economic relations with Bulgaria will develop even more vigorously after Loukarski's visit. He noted that the TCCI and the SCCI have an agreement signed in 1994 and the future memorandum between them has already been written and is due for signature. The TCCI has 78,000 member companies in various economic sectors.

The TCCI management and Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency Executive Director Marieta Zaharieva agreed to work together to improve the mechanism for direct electronic links between Bulgarian and Japanese companies.

Zaharieva, along with Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov and the Director of the National Company for Industrial Zones, Stefan Staikov, met with Kenzo Yoneda, Chairman of Japan's International Economic Exchange Association, and with Akiko Igaya, Director of the Japan-Bulgaria Association. The sides discussed their cooperation in promoting the two countries' economic relations.