BCCI Takes Over Presidency of Association of Balkan Chambers

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC) of commerce.

The BCCI will chair the ABC in 2011. The chairman of the BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov took over at the ABC meeting in Sarajevo on November 4, 2010.

He has outlined the improvement of the regional business environment and the cooperation with similar regional business associations as priorities for the BCCI presidency.

Under the BCCI, the Association of Balkan Chambers will hold several business forums as well as meeting of its members dedicated to topics such as female entrepreneurs in the region, bio- and eco-products.

As part of its presidency of the ABC, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry plans to carry out surveys of the business environments in the Balkan states and the legislative measures designed to encourage investments.

The BCCI has also vowed to help those national commerce chambers of Balkan countries which do not have arbitration courts yet to establish them.

The Association of Balkan Chambers was founded in September 1994 at the initiative of the BCCI.

It focuses its efforts on spurring liberalization of economic ties in the Balkan region through specific proposals to the national governments of the Balkan countries.

It is managed by a rotating President from a member chamber with a one-year term supported by a Secretariat and working groups.

The ABC includes the national chambers of commerce and industry of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.