BG

PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR NEW US DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN HIGH-TECH SECTORS

25.11.2019

"The United States is an important strategic partner of Bulgaria and we attach great importance to the development of bilateral trade and economic relations," said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov during a meeting with US Chamber of Commerce officials.

 

It is the most influential representative organization of the US business, founded in 1912, with 300,000 large and medium-sized companies in the United States as members.

 

"We strive for further activation of the dialogue and interaction in the economic area, with the aim of utilizing the existing potential for expanding our business cooperation," Prime Minister Borissov told the US business. It has been represented by corporations such as AES (American Energy Systems), Citi Bank, IBM, Google, MetLife, General Electric, Motorola Solutions, Raytheon, UPS and others.

 

Recently, the US has regularly ranked among the top 20 foreign trade partners of Bulgaria. According to 2018 data, the country is the 15th most important market for the sale of Bulgarian goods abroad. The US market is one of the main expert destinations for the realization of Bulgarian products in the high-tech sector.

 

"The excellent cooperation with the US business, which is confirmed by the meeting today, is a recognition of the efforts the Bulgarian government is making to achieve attractive conditions for business development, the successful expansion of production and the growth of investments," Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told the US Chamber of Commerce. He emphasized on the role and the attraction of new US direct investments towards our state, through which new jobs are created, a growth of our economy is achieved and the standard of living in the country is raising. "There is a significant potential for US investment in high-tech sectors such as information and communication technologies, business process outsourcing, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics," Prime Minister Borissov noted.

 

The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Bulgarian-US trade and economic relations have significantly deepened. This is evidenced by the Prime Minister's annual meetings with the Amercian Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham), which is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce. During the last such event, AmCham representatives congratulated Prime Minister Borissov for the good business climate created by the government and for the excellent dialogue with him.

 

According to data from the Ministry of Economy for 2018, trade in goods with the United States reaches a value of more than $ 975 million, and our exports are worth over $ 633 million (excluding services). According to the evaluation of the Bulgarian Investments Agency, the total volume of US direct investments in Bulgaria for the period 1996-2016 is EUR 1.69 billion, which places the country on the 9th place in the amount of foreign direct investments in Bulgaria.

 

The main function of the US Chamber of Commerce, with which Prime Minister Borissov had a meeting, is to conduct research and to improve the business environment according to the interests of its members. Its priorities are to achieve maximum freedom for business within the framework of the rule of law, to reduce regulations, to work towards acceptable taxation and free trade, and to improve the infrastructure and the internationalization.