More than 18 Thousand Greek Companies are Doing Business in Bulgaria and Their Total Investments in the Country Amount to Nearly BGN 6 Billion

Another meeting in the format of 'breakfast for investors' initiated by Minister Nikola Stoyanov

More than 18 thousand Greek companies operate in Bulgaria and the total amount of investments from our southern neighbour is nearly BGN 6 billion. This became clear during a meeting of the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov with representatives of the Greek business in Bulgaria. Alexios-Marios Liberopoulos, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic in Bulgaria, also took part in the discussion. This is another meeting in the format of 'breakfast for investors', which was initiated by the Minister of Economy.

Around 46% of the Greek companies are located in Blagoevgrad, 39% in Sofia, 7% in Plovdiv, 2% in Haskovo and 6% in the rest of Bulgaria. 'The data shows that Greek companies provide more than 60 thousand jobs in Bulgaria and that is why it is so important to have an operational link and to discuss all the difficulties you are facing,' Minister Nikola Stoyanov stressed. According to him, the meeting was organised after discussions with Ambassador Alexios-Marios Liberopoulos. 'It is positive that the number of strategic projects between our two countries is also increasing,' Minister Stoyanov said and gave the example of joint initiatives in the energy sector. More than 18 Thousand Greek Companies are Doing Business in Bulgaria and Their Total Investments in the Country Amount to Nearly BGN 6 Billion.

'A few months ago we had another important conversation about the future of our cooperation in the economic field - how Bulgarian and Greek companies can partner for greater presence on the international market,' Nikola Stoyanov explained. He stressed that for this purpose the events at business level between the two countries are very important. 'Bulgaria and Greece can also partner in attracting large foreign investors. In order to achieve this, the most important prerequisite is not to accept each other as competitors, but as partners,' Minister Stoyanov added.

Nearly 30% growth is reported in trade between the two countries in 2022, it became clear during the meeting. 'We are reaching a record value of EUR 5.9 billion, which you - the representatives of the Greek business in Bulgaria - should be congratulated on because you are among the drivers of this increase', Nikola Stoyanov said. The data shows that there is potential for expanding cooperation in a number of sectors - food and FMCG, bio-products, furniture, cosmetics, including in terms of setting up joint ventures to jointly enter third markets, etc.

The 'breakfast for investors' initiative is aimed at foreign companies in the country to have a direct link with the minister in charge to present the problems they face and their potential plans for expansion of their projects.