BCCI conferred its traditional Annual Awards
For the 25th time, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) conferred its annual awards for economic achievements at an official ceremony which was held in Sofia Hotel Balkan on 4th December. Among the official guests of the event were the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy Biser Petkov, the Deputy Minister of Economy Aleksandar Manolev, representatives of the public institutions, the diplomatic missions accredited in Bulgaria, members of BCCI, branch organisations, regional chambers of commerce and industry, and partners of the Chamber from the country and abroad.
In his opening speech, the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov said that this year the Chamber has again worked to improve the economic environment and support the daily activities of the companies, adding that it will continue to encourage the companies to adopt international standards in commerce and industry. The complicated EU rules and the sometimes excessive efforts of the Bulgarian institutions in their implementation continue to hamper companies, President Simeonov said and gave an example with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. He said that in order to respond to this challenge, the BCCI had prepared in time packages of services to make the fulfillment of these obligations by companies easier and more readily understandable and accessible. “The big task that remains for us is to simplify requirements and procedures both in Bulgaria and in the EU”, he added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said that BCCI works not only for its members but for every Bulgarian citizen. “It was a really good year for the Bulgarian business”, Minister Zaharieva said. “The main priority of the Government is education, but I, as a Foreign Minister, try to improve our relations with other countries with regard to labour migration and attracting to Bulgaria the traditional Bulgarian minorities abroad”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
“The results show that Bulgarian companies are competitive and innovative, that is why we expect even better results”, said the Deputy Minister of Economy Aleksandar Manolev.
With the bronze statuette “Hermes” made by the artist Stavri Kalinov, were awarded leading Bulgarian companies that are an example of good management. The Ambassador of China to Bulgaria H.E. Mr. Zhang Haizhou received an award for his contribution to the development of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the People’s Republic of China, and Mrs. Ulrike Straka, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Austria to Bulgaria received a prize for her outstanding contribution to the promotion of the economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Austria. Information about the winners in the various categories HERE.
More photos HERE
