Focus on Bulgaria – Serbia relations

The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov met with representatives of Free Zone Pirot and the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Bulgaria H.E. Asst. Prof. Dr. Željko Jović.

The bilateral economic cooperation and the relations at EU level were discussed. According to Tsvetan Simeonov, the advantages of Bulgaria’s EU membership and Serbia’s excellent relations with third countries should be used. Good neighborly relations are at the heart of the initiatives supported by the chambers of commerce and industry within the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC, established in 1994).

Ambassador Jović pointed out that the two neighbor countries have similar problems and should work together to find possible solutions. The possibility of importing qualified labour in response to the needs of companies for employees and workers was also discussed. The issue, which has been topical for several decades, with the lack of a continuous highway connection between the capitals of Bulgaria and Serbia, Sofia and Belgrade, and the need for joint checks at the border points in order to reduce the time for document processing at the border and avoide delays, was also discussed.

Free Zone Pirot was presented, in which there are currently 28 manufacturing and 100 trading companies, accounting for around USD 1 billion turnover annually and exporting goods and services for USD 500 million.

During the meeting, a working visit of the President of BCCI, accompanied by representatives of the regional chambers of commerce and industry, the sectoral organizations and business representatives from Bulgaria, to Free Zone Pirot in March 2020 was also negotiated.

The business conditions in the free zone will be presented in detail at BCCI on 2 April.