The Presidents of Bulgaria and Croatia encouraged businesses from the two countries to activate the bilateral cooperation

The Presidents of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev and of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović took part in a business meeting with representatives of Bulgarian and Croatian companies, organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Embassy of Croatia in Sofia.

Before more than 50 participant from the two countries, the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov pointed out that understanding on bilateral grounds is a basis for expanding the cooperation between the two countries both regionally and to third markets. The initiatives of BCCI undoubtedly contribute to this – the Chamber has hosted a series of events with the participation of the Heads of State of the two countries over the last few years. Tsvetan Simeonov pointed out that there are no economic obstacles to intensifying bilateral trade and investments between Bulgaria and Croatia. The number of Croatian companies registered in Bulgaria is not high, and the investments of Bulgarian companies in Croatia are also not significant. The two countries can do much more and the common goals, regional affiliation and EU membership are prerequisites for the development of economic cooperation. Bilateral trade in the last few years has been growing and is well balanced. Croatian investors in Bulgaria are orientated towards the automotive industry, accessories, electronics, infrastructure, etc.

"We want more Croatian companies to do business in Bulgaria, more Croatian investors to discover Bulgaria, we also want more Bulgarian companies to be active in Croatia," Bulgarian President Plevneliev said at the opening of the forum, and went on to enumerate the priority sectors for development of Bulgarian economy, namely IT, automotive industry, agriculture. President Plevneliev informed that Bulgaria is following the strategy for development 2020 and is already working on the plans and goals for strategy 2030. Among the priorities included in the strategies are building and updating the country’s infrastructure. New jobs were created in areas such as outsourcing (35 000), automotive industry (25 000), which are currently in the focus of foreign investors. According to the Bulgarian Head of State, in order to achieve more in the bilateral cooperation with Croatia, we need to use the force of the region – through connectivity, common economic development, synergy, setting up joint clusters, focusing on sectors of mutual interest – bank industry, insurance, tourism, automotive industry, etc. This is a guarantee for volume and strategic partnerships with larger countries and markets, Rosen Plevneliev said.

The President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that as a young member of the EU, Croatia will benefit from Bulgaria’s experience in EU funds management. An idea was presented to connect the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea regions in the field of energy, infrastructure, etc., because up to now the link East-West has been in the focus of attention, but less has been said and done about the North-South contacts in Europe.

The Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Želimir Kramarić presented the Croatian economy. GDP in 2015 was EUR 44 billion (EUR 10 400 per capita). FDI in the period 1993 – 2015 amounted to EUR 30 billion. Croatia occupies 40^th place in the Doing Business classification and 77^th place by competitiveness. The automotive industry is well developed and forms 1/5 of the country’s GDP. Last year 27% growth was registered, and in the beginning of 2016 – 11%. The idea for a joint tourist product with Bulgaria was presented.

The forum continued with presentation of the Croatian companies and talks with Bulgarian partners.