Minister Vigenin discussed with employers' organizations the opportunities for cooperation
11 September 2013 News
The provision of the necessary assistance to the Bulgarian business in the search of new markets, as well as attracting foreign investments are among the main foreign policy priorities of the government. Apart from the technical issues to assist Bulgarian companies, the overall policy of Bulgaria and the messages sent are of a significant importance. This was said today by the Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin at a meeting with employers’ organizations represented at national level.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Industrial Association - Union of the Bulgarian Business, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria. Among the topics discussed were the capacity of the state to support the business and the proposals of the employers' organizations to improve cooperation with state institutions.
Minister Vigenin assured the participants in the meeting that the first steps towards more active work of the MFA in this direction have already been made. “The new Organizational Rules of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which shall enter into force any time soon, provides for the creationof the" External Economic Affairs” Directorate. Its main goal is together with the Ministry of Economy and Energy to formulate tasks to our representatives abroad, and to monitor their implementation," he said, stressing that the new Directorate will be the direct link with the Bulgarian business.
"Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to meet and to present the most urgent needs and the changes that we expect. We appreciate the fact that the economization of the foreign policy is no longer under question,” said in turn Tsvetan Simeonov, Chairman of the BCCI.
The President of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (BICA), Vasil Velev, noted that, in contrast to the expectations that the consumption will be the driving force of the economic growth of the country, this is still performed by the exports. "We expect the government to create favorable conditions for the development of the opportunities, provided by third country markets, which may lead to strengthening the presence of Bulgarian business," he said.
All participants in the meeting shared the opinion that the Bulgarian Ambassadors have an important role for economizing the foreign policy and are supposed to be active both in attracting investments and in supporting national companies who are trying to enter foreign markets. The Foreign Minister assured that this obligation will be explicitly included in the duties of the diplomatic representatives, which will enable them to work safely in this direction.
The topic of improving consular services for citizens, vital to the tourism business, was also discussed. "Our goal is to improve the overall environment based on the negative experience gathered up to date," said Minister Vigenin, adding that full analysis of the consular services will be conducted.
The Foreign Minister and the representatives of employers' organizations discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the framework of Development Cooperation. The special working group and the Council for International Development Cooperation are expected to start working shortly.
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