site.btaPresident Rumen Radev: If Political Crisis Continues, Bulgarian Business Will Lose Competitiveness

At the 2024 Manager of the Year awards on Monday, President Rumen Radev warned that if the political crisis in the country continues, the lost benefits will reach a threshold from which Bulgarian business will begin to lose irreversible competitiveness due to a number of growing deficits in education, health care, infrastructure, regional development and demography. BTA was the media partner of the event.

President Radev  presented the 2024 Manager of the Year award to SOF Connect CEO Jesus Caballero, the operator of Sofia Airport. 

"I want to congratulate you on the enormous efforts you are making to compensate for the lack of political stability," Radev told the businesses in attendance and noted the problems in the rule of law and the protection of private property, the missed benefits under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the further postponement of Bulgaria's acceptance into Schengen and the Eurozone.

"Every year since I have been President, I present this award and every year I listen carefully to the thoughts shared by the nominees, and every year I feel more and more proud and confident about the future of Bulgaria," said Radev. "I see that we have leaders with an increasingly broad common culture and deep professional knowledge, who have mastered the art of leadership and the science of management. I see that we have leaders with a clear vision not only for the future of their company, but also of our society and Bulgaria," he pointed out.

"The most important thing is to ensure that our institutions take into account the aspirations and the standard set by Bulgarian society, as well as the standard set by progressive Bulgarian businesses," the President stressed.

He also noted that Sofia Airport is the face of Bulgaria and Bulgarians are very proud of it. "I sincerely believe that this high distinction is a moral obligation to you, that you will fulfill all the commitments made when winning the concession," said Rumen Radev to Jesus Caballero after he received the award.