site.btaEconomy Minister Confers with Japanese Business Delegation

Economy Minister Petko Nikolov met with representatives of a Japanese business delegation, which is on an official visit to Bulgaria. At the meeting it transpired that Japanese companies are interested in investing in the field of film production, IT industry, food industry and tourism, the Ministry said.

"The visit is proof of the interest of Japanese business in Bulgaria to increase investment and boost bilateral trade," Minister Nikolov said. He described the visit as key to deepening cooperation between the two countries. "Japan is our important partner in East Asian, with whom Bulgaria has been building successful diplomatic relations for 115 years, and in recent years we have seen an active development of the bilateral dialogue," the Minister added.

The delegation includes Japanese companies from the food industry, transport, construction, film industry, tourism and others. Kaloyan Mahlyanov , former sumo player Kotooshu, who has made an outstanding contribution to Japanese-Bulgarian relations is also on the delegation.

Minister Nikolov acquainted the Japanese business representatives with the investment climate and trade potential. "We count on the presence of Japanese companies and investments in Bulgarian industrial parks," he said. During the meeting, the opportunities for active development and expansion of bilateral ties in sectors such as sustainable innovation, digitalization, technology and others were discussed.

During the meeting, a direct Bulgaria-Japan air service was also discussed, which would be an additional incentive to boost business relations between the two countries.

At a meeting in early September President Rumen Radev and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament Fukushiro Nukaga discussed the opportunities for deepening bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and Japan in areas of mutual interest, such as innovations, information technologies, science and education, among others.

At the end of September, Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev held key meetings in Japan aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism. The Speaker of the Lower House of the Japanese Parliament, Fukushiro Nukaga, received Minister Miloshev at his official residence in Tokyo. The meeting was also attended by Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito. The main topic of the talks then was the increase of Japanese tourists to Bulgaria through the launch of a direct air service between the two countries. In early October, the Tourism Minister said that after his recent visit to Japan, he was ambitious to launch a charter air service from Sofia to Tokyo or Beijing.