Economic Forum at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Sofia

Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took part in an economic forum devoted to the opportunities for investments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in Bulgaria and organised by the UAE Embassy in Sofia.

The event was opened by H.E. Abdulrahman Ahmed Aljaber, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Sofia, who shared that the Forum aimed to encourage investments in Bulgaria and the UAE. He informed that, in the previous year, the UAE's GDP grew by 7% and FDI for 2022 amounted to USD 22 billion.

Dr Hamad Alawadi, Counsellor at the Embassy, continued with presenting the major macroeconomic indicators of the United Arab Emirates. He put an emphasis on the stability, tax system, good logistics and strategic location of the UAE. Dr Alawadi outlined the main incentives for investors in the UAE, as well as the leading sectors - healthcare and pharmacy, artificial intelligence, logistics, green technologies and industrial production.

Abdalla Alfalasi from Fly Dubai, the Emirates' national airline, presented the success strategy of the carrier.

Tsvetan Simeonov congratulated the participants in the forum and shared that the trade and economic relations between Bulgaria and the UAE date back to 1971 and BCCI regularly participates in meetings and in the organisation of events with partners. “A clear sign of the interest in Bulgaria is the 30% increase in the number of registered Trade Representation Offices of UAE companies in Bulgaria in the last two years,” Simeonov added further. Thus, the number of registered Trade Representation Offices from the UAE amounts to 107. The Chamber President underlined that practical steps are needed to increase the trade exchange of goods between Bulgaria and the UAE, such as dissemination of information, organisation of presentations, exchange of delegations, etc.

Miroslava Markova, Chief Expert at the Directorate for International Cooperation and International Organisations, BCCI, presented economic data on the goods exchange between Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates as well as the structure of import and export for 2023. Ms Markova presented future initiatives with UAE partners and forthcoming events.