site.btaPresident Plevneliev: Polish Business May Profit from Bulgarian High Value-Added Industries

111 POLIITICS-POLAND-PRESIDENT-VISIT

President Plevneliev:
Polish Business May Profit
from Bulgarian High Value-Added Industries


Warsaw, November 19 (BTA) - "The Polish business can invest in a
completely different Bulgaria, which for the past several years
has promoted high value-added industries," said President Rosen
Plevneliev on Tuesday. Plevneliev and his Polish counterpart
Bronislaw Komorowski took part in a presentation of Bulgaria's
investment opportunities and economic potential at the Warsaw
Stock Exchange. The forum was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister
and Economy Minister Janusz Piechocinski, Plevneliev's press
secretariat said on Wednesday.

As sectors most attractive for investment the Bulgarian
President outlined high technology, automotive industry,
energy, agriculture, foods production and tourism.

Bulgaria is regaining its holding in the IT and communication
sector and in the past ten years it has managed to create 35,000
new jobs, said Plevneliev. The head of State noted that
Bulgaria has managed to attract global leaders such as HP,
Oracle, IBM, and SAP.

The President recalled that Bulgaria's first innovation
ecosystem Sofia Techpark, started on 50 million euro in EU
funds, provides opportunities for both Bulgarian and Southeast
European startup businesses.

The President noted that Bulgaria has established itself as a
leading automotive components manufacturer on the Balkans with
an annual output of 1.5 billion euro.

The Balkans work to improve to connectivity and integration and
offer huge potential for successful business partnerships, said
the President. According to the head of state, besides building
infrastructure links with Western Europe, East European
countries should realize the potential of transport and energy
links between the North and the South. One of these projects
envisages that the port in Gdansk is linked with the port in
Thessaloniki through a motorway and a high-speed rail, which
will create opportunities for fast economic exchange and
development of Eastern Europe, said Plevneliev.

In his words, Bulgaria's strategic location in proximity to the
fast developing markets of the Black Sea countries attracts an
increasing number of companies to the Bulgarian industrial
zones.

Bulgaria and Poland are part of a common market with almost 500
million consumers and the two countries should be adequate to
the big competitive pressure. The EU's success is based on the
implementation of successful partnerships, President Komorowski
said. He underscored that Bulgaria is a preferred partner and
the representatives of the Polish business are interested in
widening their positions in this country. Competitiveness also
depends on the producers' access to cheap energy, which means
that they should be able to choose from more than one supplier,
the Polish head of State added.

Within the business forum, representatives of Polish companies
working in Bulgaria shared their experience.

Later on Tuesday, President Plevneliev met with representatives
of the Bulgarian community in Warsaw. They asked for better
electronic services for the citizens and the business community,
and for more active advertising of Bulgarian producers,
Plevneliev's press secretariat said.

The head of State thanked the Bulgarian community for their
civil position, the support for the initiatives of the Bulgarian
Cultural Institute in Warsaw, the functioning of the Sunday
school, and the active participation in the October general
elections. Plevneliev underscored Bulgaria's interest in a
higher level of integration with the Visegrad Four countries. He
said that with its example of partnership within the Visegrad
Group and its more active cooperation with the Baltic countries
and with Bulgaria and Romania, Poland has become a leader and a
driving force of the integration processes in Eastern Europe.

Plevneliev also acquainted the Bulgarians living in Poland with
the actions Bulgaria is carrying out within the initiative for
marking the 25th anniversary of the democratic changes in the
country.

On Wednesday the Bulgarian head of State is visiting the seaside
city of Gdansk, where he is scheduled to visit the European
Centre of the Solidarity Movement and to lay flowers at the
Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970. LI/PP, DS