Seminar at BCCI promoting trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and South Africa

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted an information seminar “South Africa – Economy and Investment”, organized jointly with the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa.

In his opening speech, the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov noted the excellent cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa. “Providing up-to-date information on the economic development of the Republic of South Africa, priority areas for attracting investment, potential sectors for trade cooperation and diversification of trade, as well as sharing good practices are prerequisites for successful partnership”, he said.

“We would like to attract investment from South Africa in areas such as high-tech industry, ICT, electronics and electrical engineering, machine building, joint production of automotive parts, pharmaceuticals and agriculture”, said Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Economy Lachezar Borisov during the seminar.

There is great potential for intensification of the bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and the Republic of South Africa. The volume of bilateral trade has increased in recent years, reaching USD 221 million in 2018 (USD 178 million Bulgarian exports, USD 43 million imports).

Mashudubele Mamabolo, Chargé d`Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa confirmed the desire to strengthen the bilateral economic cooperation. He informed the participants that there are already investments from South Africa in Bulgaria, mainly in real estate and in shopping centers in Sofia, Burgas, Stara Zagora and Plovdiv. Examples of good cooperation exist in the energy and electrical equipment sectors, and food industry.

Specific examples of bilateral cooperation in the field of medical services and equipment, processing of plastic products, energy, green energy, production of domestic and industrial ventilation systems, etc. were presented.