The Ambassador of Arab Republic of Egypt in Bulgaria H.E. Mrs. El Manal Yehiya El Shinaui and representatives of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs in Egypt have visited the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) today, November 27, 2013 The delegation includes 10 businessmen from Egypt, who are interested in business cooperation with the Balkan countries .
The Bulgarian business was represented by Bulgarian Industrial Association - Mr. Georgi Shivarov – vice president of BIA, Mr. Veselin Iliev – General Director of International Economic Relations Center in BIA and representatives of Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Participants in the meeting were also Bulgarian companies interested in cooperation with the Egyptian market.
The state of the trade and economic relations between Bulgaria and Egypt (turnover, leading companies from both sides, main traded goods and services), their development prospects and investments opportunities have been discussed during the meeting.
It was emphasized that Egypt is a stable trade partners of Bulgaria, particularly in recent years. The country is one of the largest markets for Bulgarian exports to the Middle East and North Africa. In the period 2005-2012, the trade is with constant growth, reaching 295 million USD in 2012. One - third of Bulgaria’s total export of petroleum oils, refined copper and copper alloys is related to the Egyptian market and 39% of total imports in our nitrogen fertilizer come from Egypt. Hence is one - fifth of the country quantities imported raw aluminum. Among the leading positions in trade are also electrical transformers, plastic products, polymers and others.
The mutual interest in strengthening bilateral tourism exchanges was emphasized during the meeting. There are also opportunities for offering comprehensive travel services for tourists from third countries. In 2011, Egypt was visited by 1510 Bulgarian citizens (down 50.7% compared to 2010). The number of Egyptians who visited Bulgaria for tourism is 1760 persons (increase by 14.4% compared to 2010).
A significant factor for the development of trade relations between Bulgaria and Egypt is the Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the Governments of the two countries harmonized with EU requirements and the Agreement on Egypt EU Association.
Worried is the BNB statistics, which does not reflect realized in Bulgaria Egyptian investments in recent years. In this regard, the Egyptian representatives expressed their willingness to intensify the cooperation and to assist Bulgarian and Egyptian businessmen to establish contacts and joint projects.
The formal visit of the Egyptian entrepreneurs is part of their business tour in the Balkan countries including other neighboring countries - Greece, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. The business delegation held between 21-st to 28-th of November 2013.
