Discussion of the possibilities for development of the Bulgarian – Egyptian economic relations at BCCI

The relations between Bulgaria and Egypt at chamber of commerce and industry and company levels were discussed by the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov and the newly appointed Ambassador of Bulgaria to Egypt Deyan Katrachev during a meeting held at the Chamber. BCCI has maintained good cooperation with the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce since 1998. Numerous visits of business delegations to both countries have been exchanged, accompanied by meetings of companies working in various sectors of industry. The last business delegation took place during a visit of the Bulgarian Head of State to Egypt and as a result a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Haskovo CCI and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

Currently, the bilateral commercial and economic relations are affected by the global COVID-19 crisis and there is a decline in trade. In 2019, bilateral trade reached USD 1270.4 million (an increase of over 44% compared to 2018), and for the first six months of 2020 there was a decline of -37.8% in bilateral trade, amounting to USD 352 million.

Simeonov confirmed that BCCI works extremely well with Bulgaria’s Commercial and Economic Section in Cairo. He discussed with the Ambassador the initiative of a group of Egyptian businessmen to establish a joint Egyptian – Bulgarian Business Council. The President of BCCI stressed that the Chamber supports the formation of bilateral business structures, which further facilitate relations between companies from the respective countries and regions.