A meeting of the General Assembly of the Bulgarian-Ukrainian Industrial Chamber /BUIC/ was held at the BCCI in a hybrid format. The event was officially opened by Tsvetan Simeonov, President of BCCI, who said that now is the right time to intensify the activities of BUIC.
BCCI wishes and tries to encourage the widest possible support for the joint chamber, which will play an important role in the future expansion of economic cooperation with Ukraine in support of its faster recovery.
Simeonov reminded the participants that the Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria played an important role in the establishment of BUIC in 2012 and has supported the numerous initiatives of the Chamber over the years.
A new Chairperson of BUIC was also elected during the meeting. The post was taken by Ms. Lilia Ivanova, former Deputy Minister of Economy, with many years of experience in public administration. She presented highlights of her work programme, including initiating meetings with the government and companies to take active participation in the action plan regarding the crisis in Ukraine, raising awareness of the EU Solidarity Fund for Ukraine, and providing up-to-date information on incentives for Bulgarian companies when hiring Ukrainian refugees.
Sergiy Marusenko, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UBCCI), welcomed the idea of intensifying the activities of BUIC and shared information about the current situation in Ukraine. He stressed the need of humanitarian aid, as well as assistance in starting the reconstruction process in the country in the field of construction and infrastructure. Marusenko said that according to Ukraine, the damage from the military conflict currently amounts to USD 1 trillion.
The participants in the General Assembly also came out with a position on to the military conflict in Ukraine.