The bilateral trade between Bulgaria and the United States has big potential for development, Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov said at a meeting with a trade and investment delegation of 15 leading US companies here on Friday. The US market is among the main export destinations for Bulgarian high-tech sector products, he noted, as quoted by the Economy Ministry.
The US delegation's visit is among the most large-scale ones in the last years. It is organized by the American-Central European Business Association (ACEBA) and the United States Department of Commerce, the press release reads.
The participants in the meeting discussed opportunities for promoting investment and partnership between the two countries in the fields of trade, military industry, pharmaceutics, finance, energy, modernization of infrastructure, and other fields.
The Economy Minister acquainted the US business representatives with Bulgaria's advantages as an investment destination. He put an emphasis on the favourable tax policy, the increasing strategic importance as well as Bulgaria's capabilities of becoming a transport and logistics hub in the region.
Bogdanov put an emphasis on the Economy Ministry's vision for the development of industrial zones in the country as a means to attract new investment projects. "We will create new industrial zones in Dobroslavtsi and Stara Zagora, and we will apply the best practices of international institutions such as the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They [the zones] will specialize in specific sectors, such as the automotive industry, and will have opportunities to develop research and development activity," the Minister said. In his words, there will be an option for public-private partnership with international or local investors interested in building the zones in partnership with the State.
Bogdanov assured the representatives on the US delegation that the Bulgarian side is working on a stable and predictable business environment and on the creation of conditions for attracting investment in productions with high value added.
Bulgaria is about to send to the US commercial attachés who will work on accelerating the bilateral trade relations, which have an extremely big potential, Bogdanov said.
He also talked about the three main priorities on which the Government is working in relation to Bulgaria's entry in the Schengen area, the eurozone, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which are of key importance for attracting investment and developing the business climate here.
In January-August 2023 alone, two-way trade between Bulgaria and the US amounted to USD 1.131 billion, of which USD 697.3 million came from exports to the United States and USD 434.3 million, from imports, the Economy Ministry recalls. Last year saw a peak in bilateral trade of USD 1.936 billion, up by 45% from 2021.
/RY/
news.modal.text
