Partnership event with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a virtual event, organized jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, on the occasion of BCCI’s Presidency of the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC). The purpose of the event was to consider and discuss opportunities to restore the bilateral economic relations in view of the COVID-19 crisis.

The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov opened the event and said that bilateral trade, mutual investments, as well as the number of tourists from both countries have been strongly influenced by the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. According to him, good neighbourly relations can contribute for the faster recovery of normal business cooperation and trade.

The event is a continuation of last year’s meeting between the two national chambers of commerce with the same goal - to resume the economic ties between Serbia and Bulgaria.

Mihailo Vesović, Director at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, also greeted the participants - more than 40 business representatives from both countries. He agreed with Simeonov and stressed that many business and economic initiatives open to the Balkan countries have one goal - to remove obstacles to business in the region.

The Ambassador of Bulgaria to Belgrade H.E. Petko Doykov and the Ambassador of Serbia in Sofia H.E. Asst. Prof. Dr. Željko Jović supported the event, commenting on the reduced trade, the need for more activity by the business in creating joint ventures, using the opportunities offered by industrial and free zones in both countries, as well as maintaining the made investments, all topics supported by the economic diplomacy led by both sides. The issue of the limited access of Serbian citizens to Bulgaria as of 15 September 2021 due to the COVID-19 measures, which needs an urgent solution, was also mentioned.

The markets of both countries are very close, complementary and offer the sale of goods and services both within the EU and in third markets.

Representatives of Invest Bulgaria Agency and the Development Agency of Serbia acquainted the participants with up-to-date information on the economies and the investment environment in both countries. According to them, even though they are competitors in small projects, the two countries can cooperate in larger supply and infrastructure projects.

The event continued with an exchange of business proposals from the participating companies from both countries in the sectors: wine production, engineering, furniture production, chemical industry, textile industry, metalworking, food industry, IT and software, construction, trade, consultancy and other services.

The recording of the event can be obtained additionally. For contacts: interdpt@bcci.bg