The Bulgarian delegation and businessmen from Minas Gerais after the meeting at the Bulgarian Embassy
Bulgarian business delegation accompanied the President of the Republic Rosen Plevneliev on his official visit to the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Argentina, which also includes the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov.
The visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev to the Federative Republic of Brazil was at the official invitation of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in return to her visit to Bulgaria in 2011.
The Bulgarian business delegation started its work programme on 1st February with meetings with businessmen from the state of Minas Gerais. The interest in the meetings was provoked by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria to Belo Horizonte Mr. Renato Rouseff who helped organize the participation of more than 15 Brazilian businessmen, as well as representatives of state agencies and institutions who met the Bulgarian companies. Representatives of the local Parliament, as well as the other honorary consuls of Bulgaria in Brazil also took part in the meeting.
The work programme of the delegation continued with meetings with representatives of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency – APEX and the Brazilian Confederation of Trade and Business Associations – CACB. Valuable experience was exchanged and specific steps for strengthening the contacts and enhancing the bilateral and multilateral cooperation were discussed.
A Brazilian – Bulgarian Business Forum
was held in the capital of Brazil on 2 February. The event was organized in cooperation with the National Confederation of Industry of Brazil and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. More than 60 business representatives from the two countries took part in the forum. Mr. Robson Braga de Andrade, President of the National Confederation of Industry of Brazil welcomed President Plevneliev and opened the forum.
President Plevneliev pointed out to the forum participants that Brazil is a priority commercial and economic partner of Bulgaria in MERCOSUR. The Head of State expressed readiness on behalf of the state institutions to support the business and the development of the bilateral ties.
The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov gave an overview of Bulgarian economy, stressing that Bulgaria has good positions in agriculture, cosmetics, and automotive industry. His presentation is available HERE.
During the subsequent business meetings, future agreements were discussed in the field of ICT (a Bulgarian company with 1 million Brazilian users is included in the delegation), pharmaceuticals, machine building, food industry, etc.
In Sao Paulo a second Brazilian – Bulgarian Business Forum
was held. The forum attracted the interest of over 100 businessmen from the two countries and was opened by the Bulgarian Head of State and the President of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) Paulo Skaf. At a special ceremony in the beginning of the forum, the Bulgarian President was awarded with the Order of Sao Paulo for his contributions in industry.
President Plevneliev presented to the forum participants Bulgaria's advantages as a platform for successfully doing business in the EU. He stressed that the traditional Bulgarian industries offer ample opportunities for joint projects with Brazilian partners.
Bulgarian Minister of Economy Bozhidar Loukarski presented the country’s main advantages for trade and investments. In his speech, the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov cited the main macroeconomic indicators of the country and the position of Bulgaria in international rankings and classifications, and outlined the existing business opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
The forum continued with bilateral meetings between the Bulgarian and Brazilian companies.
The visit of the Bulgarian Head of State and the business delegation that accompanies him to Argentina started on 3rd February and went under the sign of the 85th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Argentina. On 4th February the Bulgarian business delegation and 137 Argentine companies took part in a
Argentine – Bulgarian Business Forum
organized by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy of Bulgaria in Argentina, and BCCI.
The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov and the Deputy Chairman of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce Manuel Ribeiro signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of the Bulgarian Head of State Rosen Plevneliev.
Bulgarian President said that it is no coincidence that Bulgaria is the first EU member-state to pay a highest-level official visit after the beginning of the political changes in Argentina. “We have come with a clear goal and strategy – Bulgaria provides opportunities to Argentina to enter the wealthiest market and the biggest economy in the world, the European one, at the lowest cost”, President Plevneliev said.
