The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted an extended meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bulgaria - Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BICCI).
The meeting was opened by Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the BCCI, who thanked the management of the Bulgaria - Israel CCI for their activity and efforts made to develop bilateral trade and economic relations, especially in the field of high technology.
Dr. Boyko Takov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), also greeted the participants in the meeting. He stressed that a memorandum in the field of innovation is to be signed between BSMEPA and an Israeli partner, which will give impetus to their development and will support the competitiveness of Bulgarian SMEs.
Prof. Dr. Ruslan Penchev, Chairman of the BICCI, said that Israel is a special country and the approach of business to it must be consistent with this fact.
An overview of the current situation in the trade and economic relations between Bulgaria and Israel, as well as the opportunities for business cooperation between the two countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was made by the Head of Bulgaria’s Commercial and Economic Section in Tel Aviv - Kamen Minkov. He stressed that Bulgarian goods such as sugar, oil, vinegar, dairy products and other food products are in demand in Israel. Minkov also monitors opportunities for cooperation in the fields of metalworking, outsourcing, cosmetics, information technology, etc. There has been an increase in exports of goods from Bulgaria to the State of Israel by 16% this year compared to last year, in addition, the volume of total trade is also growing. The tourist flow from Israel to our country in June alone this year amounted to about 10 000 people. Unfortunately, at the moment the partner country is still closed to foreign tourists due to the pandemic.
The possibility of organizing a Bulgarian exhibition in Israel when the epidemiological situation allows was discussed.
During the meeting, Hristo Popov was awarded a Certificate for Honorary Chairman of the Board of BICCI and Ivan Filipov - a Certificate for Honorary Member of BICCI.
The ongoing cooperation of the joint chamber with the Israel-Bulgaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry was also discussed and proposals for the further development of the partnership were made.