Meeting with the management of Confindustria Bulgaria

The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov had a meeting with representatives of the board of Confindustria Bulgaria - the Italian entrepreneurs’s association in Bulgaria, an active member of the Club of Joint and Foreign Chambers to the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The meeting was attended by Roberto Santorelli, President, Nunziante Coraggio, Vice President, Mila Nenova, Director, and Mariela Paneva – Public Relations and Marketing Manager.

The discussion was focused on the cooperation between the two organizations and the opportunity to continue the good practice, including the realization of future joint initiatives aimed at supporting the business in both countries. The representatives of Confindustria Bulgaria mentioned also the lack of manpower and the steps taken at government level to attract to the field of agriculture skilled workers from abroad.

Confindustria Bulgaria was founded in 2000 as Consultative Committee of the Italian Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria (CCIIB). Now, the organization has more than 220 member companies, an annual turnover is EUR 1.75 billion and over 25,000 permanent jobs.

Since 2010 Confindustria Bulgaria has been part of Confindustria Italy - a leading Italian association of manufacturers and service companies, voluntary membership of 223 associations and more than 150,000 companies with a total of over 5.4 million staff.

Based on information from the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Industry, direct foreign investment from Italy is worth more than 2.9 billion euros, which makes the country the fourth largest investor in our country. According to preliminary data from the BNB, Italian investments amount to almost 200 million euros for the year 2022 alone. Italy is the third largest trading partner of our country in terms of exports and the fifth largest importer in our country. Data from the Ministry of Economy reveal there are about 13,000 Italian companies in Bulgaria, concentrated in the sectors of energy, tourism, banking and insurance, transport, agriculture, trade and goods processing.