site.btaNearly 70 Bulgarian, Ukrainian Companies Attend Bilateral Economic Forum

A Bulgarian-Ukrainian business forum was held here on Thursday with the participation of nearly 70 companies of the two countries, the Economy and Industry Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

Opening the event, caretaker Economy and Industry Minister Petko Nikolov pointed to the promising areas for the pursuit of economic cooperation, including construction, the energy sector, transport and logistics, agriculture, food processing and the pharmaceutical industry.

Nikolov noted that Ukraine is a traditional and significant business partner of Bulgaria, and the two countries engage in comprehensive and long-term cooperation. "In recent years, two-way trade has been growing steadily," the Economy Minister said further. He specified that the trade in goods between the two countries approximated USD 2 billion in 2023.

In his words, Bulgaria consistently supports and share in the international efforts to provide aid to Ukraine in all spheres, in which the EU takes a leading role and where the contributing international partners are closely coordinated.

Nikolov expressed his conviction that the forum will help establish new business contacts, build partnerships and implement joint projects. "These options are all the more significant in the present complicated and volatile international economic situation which poses numerous challenges to business," he added.

The Minister sees the geographic and cultural closeness between the two countries, the shared Euro-Atlantic values and the presence of the largest Bulgarian community abroad in Ukraine as a solid prerequisite for strengthening bilateral economic ties and the mutually beneficial cooperation.

Within the framework of the event, Nikolov conferred with Ukraine's Ambassador in Sofia Olesya Ilashchuk. They discussed opportunities for broadening trade and economic contacts between the two countries.

The forum was organized by the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency. Also taking part in the opening were, among others, the Head of the European Commission Representation to Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Tsvetan Simeonov,  the State Secretary of Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food Victor Kantsurak of Ukraine, and Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Gennadiy Chizhikov.