Discussion of the cooperation opportunities between Bulgaria and the Netherlands

A Dutch business delegation, organized by the business and employers’ organization Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) visited Sofia. More than 50 meetings between Dutch and Bulgarian companies were held at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Dutch delegation also visited several companies – retailers of food products, and non-food chains. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bulgaria H.E. Mrs. Bea ten Tusscher and the Ministry of Economy took part in the preparation of the meetings at BCCI.

The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov opened the event and stressed that BCCI has a long-standing cooperation with Dutch partners, thanks to which the Unified Trade Register of the Chamber has been modernized. He presented BCCI’s activity as an independent business organization with voluntary membership and 124-year history.

H.E. Mrs. Bea ten Tusscher expressed gratitude to the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the cooperation in support of the bilateral business relations. She explained that the visit of the Dutch businessmen was a result of the visit of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte to Bulgaria in February 2018. In addition to this, 2019 marks the 110^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Bulgaria.

The Dutch business delegation was led by Hans de Boer, President of VNO-NCW and Deputy President of Business Europe. He stressed that Bulgaria and the Netherlands are not big countries but the investment cooperation is excellent. SMEs are very active and business organizations in both countries can additionally contribute to informing companies and exploring new business opportunities.

The Netherlands is a leading investor in Bulgaria, with investments amounting to a total of EUR 7.8 billion. Bilateral cooperation is actively developing, with potential to expand in the sectors electronics, electrical engineering, pharmaceutical industry, transport and logistics, tourism, furniture industry, textile industry, outsourcing, etc.

The Dutch companies got acquainted with the economic and investment climate in Bulgaria and established contacts with Bulgarian partners.