BCCI took part in the General Assembly of the Association of Balkan Chambers in Istanbul

Vasil Todorov, Secretary General of BCCI, took part in the General Assembly of the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC) which was hosted by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

The event was officially launched by the President of TOBB Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu. Speeches were also delivered by the Minister of Trade of Turkey Ruhsar Pekcan and the former Vice-President of the European Commission Günter Verheugen.

Reporing that the foreign trade volume between Turkey and the Balkan countries in the last 15 years has increased from 3.5 billion USD to 20 billion USD, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “So we buy and sell more goods. We increased our mutual trade by 6 times. Moreover, we did this in a period of global economic crisis. Yes, this is an achievement. But this is not enough. As countries sitting at this table, we need to cooperate more. To prosper together, we must increase our mutual trade and investments. This should be our basic mission as ABC.”

After the official part, the representatives of the Balkan chambers presented information about the current economic situation in their countries and the novelties in the work of the individual chambers.

The Secretary General of BCCI presented the state of the Bulgarian economy, the results of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the activities of the Chamber in support of the connectivity of the Western Balkans. He focused on initiatives related to female entrepreneurship and the proactive role of ABC in this direction.

The event continued with bilateral meetings between companies from the region. Bulgaria was represented in the sectors: IT, infrastructure and projects, consultancy, workwear and personal protective equipment.

Next year the Association of Balkan Chambers will be chaired by the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Albania (UCCIAL).