"I am convinced that right now, when we are on the threshold of reformatting the political space, all politicians who will take responsibility for the management of the country should be reminded that innovation policy should be the priority of every government", announced Mr. Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria, during the opening of the National Round Table "Innovations - Opportunities for Bulgaria".
The head of state emphasized that until recently, innovations were considered as a catalyst of globalization, today they are the key to overcoming crises, and tomorrow they will confidently become a guarantor of progress and the quality of life.
Mr. Radev reminded that our country is in the penultimate place in Europe in terms of innovation development in 2021, in the group of countries defined as modest or smooth innovators, and he called for encouragement actions. According to him, Bulgaria only grew by 1% last year, while neighboring countries such as Greece and Serbia recorded 8% growth.
The President highlighted that the attitude towards the innovations is an indicator of the future, and this future will increasingly divide countries into two categories, those that develop innovation and high technologies and set the world and public agenda, and countries that will consume these technologies and stand on the periphery of the social development.
Rumen Radev stated that a highly significant national goal of Bulgaria is to separate ourselves from the bottom of Europe in terms of standard and quality of life.
The forum brought together representatives of state and international institutions, the scientific and academic circles, as well as Bulgarian innovative enterprises and start-up organizations.
Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, outlined the prospects for the European Union's innovation policy and the efforts being made. She presented the new European innovation program and the initiatives for attracting private investments, attracting talents, developing local ecosystems, developing laboratories for experiments and innovations.
Dragomir Zakov, the retired Minister of Defense, in his part, outlined the main problems the country faces. "Investments in key emerging technologies are a prerequisite for having armed forces capable of operating together with our allies, we are talking about interoperability," said Zakov.
He added that the faster the pace of technological development is, the faster we would get through the turmoil in our economy.
Innovative solutions can be born where barriers to business are removed. This was commented by the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov before the participants of the event. In his speech, Minister Nikolov pointed out that Europe lags behind the USA and China in this regard and he further recalled the unrealized potential on the old continent and as well as in Bulgaria.
According to the the Energy Minister, innovation is no longer just an opportunity, but an obligation, the failure of which condemns economies to dependence. If we do not focus on this, after years we will fall behind at rates that will make us even more dependent, emphasized Minister Nikolov.
During the discussion, possible goals and priorities for our country in the field of innovation were discussed.