The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria - Rosen Plevneliev and Klaus Johannis, attended a business forum organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR). The Forum took place on June 15 at the premises of BCCI with a great interest on the part of the business community - representatives of over 60 Bulgarian and 14 Romanian companies were at the event.
At the opening of the Forum the BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov welcomed the large number of participating companies and noted the dynamic growth of trade for the last 10 years. The BCCI President also emphasized on the extremely enhanced economic cooperation after the accession of both countries in the EU and expressed confidence that the joint participation of the Bulgarian-Romanian companies on third markets is a very good prospect.
President Rosen Plevneliev noted that the comprehensive friendly relations between Bulgaria and Romania are a prerequisite for even more ambitious trade, economic and investment cooperation on a number of concrete projects of bilateral interest that have already been identified. He also called for the creation of common clusters, of clear and precise prospects for further success in the joint management of the bilateral programs, for more interconnectors and more bridges.
The Romanian President Klaus Johannis highlighted the common positions of the two countries, the NATO and EU membership, the good economic relations and the successful implementation of joint projects under the Cross Border Cooperation Program Bulgaria-Romania for the period 2007-2013, under which 95% utilization of the funds had been achieved.
Klaus Johannis also called for the development of transport on the Danube River, and as he said, for initiatives in this direction we should rely on ourselves and not on other countries. The Romanian President also reminded that Bulgaria and Romania received together their membership in EU and together they have to make more changes such as the adoption of the Euro. He said that "reforms are our anchors in the EU."
The official part of the Business Forum was closed by Mihai Daraban, President of CCIR who also welcomed the organization of such a meeting and greeted BCCI for its successes and its participation in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the EUROCHAMBERS. The President of the Romanian Chamber expressed his support for the idea to create clusters for the promotion of Bulgarian and Romanian businesses in third markets. He ended with his cordial advice to the gathered businessmen to rely on their National Chambers.
Presentations of the investment climate in Bulgaria and Romania were made by Mr. Svetoslav Gatev, Expert at the Bulgarian Investment Agency, and respectively, by Mr. Gheorghe Pruteanu, Counselor to the Romanian Secretary of State for trade and investment. Stability and access to markets, skilled labor, low taxes, government programs and funds, industrial parks and zones, IT sector development and the automotive industry were outlined as main advantages for the development of business and investment in both countries.
The Forum continued with bilateral business meetings where representatives of more than 60 Bulgarian companies had the opportunity to meet with Romanian companies from the sectors of tourism, industry, defense and security systems, IT and advertising, agriculture, food and beverages, energy.
Romania is a traditional trade partner of Bulgaria. The country holds third place as an export partner of Bulgaria in EU after Germany and Italy and fourth in the world after Germany, Italy and Turkey. In 2015 trade between Bulgaria and Romania has marked a record in the trade and economic relations in recent years – EUR 3 680.6 million, and Bulgaria has improved its exports to Romania and has a positive balance.