site.btaPresident Plevneliev Pays Working Visit to Germany

President Plevneliev Pays Working Visit to Germany

Hamburg, November 13 (BTA) - Europe should avail itself of the historical opportunity and should support the economic progress and the political stability in the Balkans, President Rosen Plevneliev said addressing a meeting of the AGA business association in Hamburg on November 12. Over 3,500 German companies are members of the association.

Plevneliev, who is paying a two-day working visit to Germany, underscored that the European Southeast is a strategic goal of the European Union and that nearly 50,000 million euro will be invested in the region under various programmes by 2020. Leading German companies, including HypoVereinsbank, Lufthansa, Aurubis, Sharp Electronics, and Holzen, among others, are participating in the forum.

"The EU should not consider SE Europe as a periphery, but as a centre of European policy and of geopolitical interest," Plevneliev said. Europe security also depends on the stability of the Balkans and that is why it is strategically important for the countries in the area to attract increasing German investments as a factor of sustainable development. In the last ten years German investments in SE Europe have increased six-fold and the country's trade exchange with the region has risen three-fold to 53 million euro.

"Bulgaria is becoming a modern, open, European economy, as are all other countries in SE Europe,"Plevneliev said. He underscored the efforts for improvement of transport and energy connection, for attracting large investors and for the establishment of economic clusters between the countries in the region.

The Bulgarian Head of State also spoke of the development of the automotive sector in Romania and Serbia as the foundation for the facilities producing vehicle components in Bulgaria, resulting in numbers covering 80 per cent of the vehicles produced with the stamp "Made in EU". This is already attracting new investors, including from China.

The countries in the Balkans are aware that the better the existing clusters in banking, finances, insurance, tourism and IT function the faster investors will come.

Plevneliev said that he guarantees and ambitious reform programme for Bulgaria as a President, with a stress on progress rather than growth, as is generally said.

He also underscored that what Bulgaria has achieved should not be belittled, proof of which are thousands of German companies that have invested in this country and have achieved success. In the last ten years trade between Bulgaria and Germany has increased seven-fold. Bulgaria is also among the ten best destinations for outsourcing in the world.

In the sphere of ITC, Bulgaria ranks third in the world by the number of certified specialists per capital, Plevneliev said. Leading world companies have been developing and profiting from this potential for years. Sofia was declared the third best capital in Europe for start-up companies after London and Dublin, he added.

The significance of the Balkans as a crossroads between Europe and Asia will continue to increase, Plevneliev said, mentioning China's initiative "16+1".

The Bulgarian Head of State said the development of the European Energy Union is a new motor for EU integration and that the countries that have not yet become EU members should receive a clear-cut European perspective.