The Vice President of BIA Maria Mincheva and Ivan Velkov, a member of the Managing Board of BIA, held a meeting today, 15 October 2021, with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa - Alvin Botes and the Ambassador of South Africa to Bulgaria H.E. Thabo Tage. The meeting was also attended by Hristina Kasparyan, Chief Expert of the International Economic Relations Center at BIA, as well as a representative of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the discussion, the dynamic development of bilateral relations between the two countries was presented and the areas in which the partnership has unrealized potential were examined. The agricultural and information and communication technology sectors as areas of interest to the South African market and investors were discussed.
The Bulgarian Industrial Association proposed its support in the organization of hybrid and virtual B2B meetings as an opportunity for contact between representatives of companies from both countries and offered its expertise in overcoming regulatory challenges in trade and economic relations between Bulgaria and South Africa.
“There are practical issues that with today’s technology are becoming new opportunities,” said Ivan Velkov. Vice President Maria Mincheva added that “with a systematic and analytical approach, we could work together to overcome difficulties and build new partnerships”.
The Green Deal, the efforts and challenges of the decarbonisation of the economy and the alternative energy sources of Bulgaria, South Africa and the world were also discussed during the meeting.
The participants in today’s meeting are to hold the next one in the beginning of November, in order to deepen the cooperation.
