Bulgarian – Iranian Business Forum to be held with the participation of diplomats from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Hassan Doutaghi, Economic Counsellor at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sofia held a meeting with the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov.

They discussed opportunities for cooperation between Bulgaria and Iran, and in this regard Mr. Doutaghi said that he expected the private sector to take on more responsibilities and initiative in the modern development of the traditionally good relations between the two countries. The Economic Counsellor stressed the historical and cultural proximity between the Persian and Bulgarian nations and said that the interest of Iran towards Bulgaria is growing.

The President of BCCI welcomed Mr. Doutaghi’s attitude towards the history and relations of the two countries and stated his respect to Iran’s centuries-old culture and the tradition of good relations between the two countries. The state of current international relations was discussed. According to the representative of the Iranian Embassy, the only obstacle to the development of the great potential for economic relations is the issue of sanctions against Iran.

Another important topic discussed during the meeting was the project for a new transport corridor connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea and Bulgaria, passing through Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Bulgaria. According to Mr. Doutaghi, Bulgaria has extremely important geographic location on the road of world trade and should not fall behind in the race for trade routes and partnership with the ever growing Iranian market, which covers 80 million people. The President of BCCI welcomed the project and stressed that such a transport corridor would really help improve Bulgarian competitiveness and increase trade turnover. The project is especially important to differentiate the routes and the give forwarders the ability to choose.

In connection with the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries, Mr. Doutaghi invited BCCI to visit Iran. The Chamber will start organizing a business delegation to visit Tehran and some of the other major cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Qazvin. The dates of the visit will be further specified.

The main sectors of interest to our Iranian partners are IT industry, road construction. Emphasis is placed on Bulgarian medicine, in particular medical devices, as these sectors were the topic of discussion during the meeting between the Presidents of Bulgaria and Iran – Rosen Plevneliev and Hassan Rouhani during the 71^st session of the UN General Assembly, held in New York on 21 September. Interested Bulgarian companies can apply to participate in the business delegation by contacting BCCI’s International Cooperation and International Organizations Directorate at tel.: +359 2/ 8117 497 (~421, ~489) or by e-mail: v.velichkov@bcci.bg.

BCCI also informed about the upcoming Bulgarian – Iranian Business Forum with the participation of diplomats from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which will be held at the Chamber in October this year and will provide interested Bulgarian companies with the opportunity to get acquainted with the investment climate and the economy of Iran. On this occasion, Hassan Doutaghi said that he was willing to meet Bulgarian companies which are interested in cooperation with Iran, regardless of the sector in which they work. For additional information, Bulgarian companies can again contact BCCI’s International Cooperation and International Organizations Directorate at tel.: +359 2/ 8117 497 (~421, ~489) or by e-mail: v.velichkov@bcci.bg.