Bulgarian – Ukrainian Economic Conference

On the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Ukraine, the Embassy of Bulgaria in Ukraine organized a conference during which the state of the bilateral cooperation in various fields was discussed.

Among the official participants in the conference were the Ambassador of Bulgaria in Kyiv H.E. Kostadin Kodzhabashev, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria H.E. Vitalii Moskalenko, the President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce Gennadiy Chyzhykov, representatives of the parliamentary friendship groups of the two countries, ministries and academic institutions from Bulgaria and Ukraine.

The President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov reviewed BCCI’s relations with partner organizations in Ukraine - the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Association of Ukrainian Industrialists. He presented the exchanged high-level and business visits, as well as the organized business forums and meetings of the two chambers of commerce.

The economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine in the last 10 years has been extremely active. In order to strengthen these ties, in 2012 at the BCCI a Bulgarian – Ukrainian Chamber of Industry was established, which operates to this day and initiates events to improve information exchange and trade between the two countries.

At the end of 2021, a similar structure was established at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry - the Ukrainian – Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, whose main goal is to strengthen business cooperation with Bulgaria as one of Ukraine’s closest Eastern European partners and to utilize the potential for business cooperation between Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Stefan Sofroniev, Head of Bulgaria’s Commercial and Economic Section in Ukraine, pointed out that the partnership between companies from both countries is extremely active in the IT sector, as well as in the field of technology, transport, energy and others.

Trade has grown steadily over the past few years, currently amounting to USD 1 billion. Trade is sufficiently diversified - over 20 types of goods are exported and imported, each of them with more than 1% contribution to the formation of bilateral trade. Bulgarian foodstuff are well represented in Ukraine.

The two countries also cooperate in the field of investments. Ukrainian companies have invested more than EUR 150 million in Bulgaria, and more than 1000 companies with Ukrainian participation are registered in the country. The cultural and psychological similarities between the two nations, the low taxes in Bulgaria and the fact that Ukraine has the largest Bulgarian diaspora abroad contribute to the good results. Stefan Sofroniev also noted the active transport links between the two countries by land, air and water.

Special attention during the conference was paid to cooperation in the field of tourism.

The President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennadiy Chyzhykov noted that Bulgaria has always been an extremely close, important and interesting country for Ukraine. The Black Sea country is oriented towards the common European values ​​and strives for close cooperation with Bulgaria at all levels.

Bulgaria is Ukraine’s largest trade and economic partner on the Balkans. The newly established joint chamber has undertaken to organize in 2022 a "Day of the Economy of Ukraine in Bulgaria" and a "Day of the Economy of Bulgaria in Ukraine". Such measures will help activate the business in the new conditions.

The two national chambers of commerce stand behind all initiatives and proposals that will promote cooperation and business growth in the interest of both countries.