At a work meeting in Washington, the Minister of Innovation and Growth, Milena Stoycheva, presented to representatives of companies that are members of the American Business Association in Central Europe, the targeted efforts of the government to improve the investment climate in Bulgaria, the policy for the sustainable development of innovations and competitiveness in all spheres of the economy.
Representatives of the companies Skydio, Merck, Meteomatics, Lockheed Martin, Smartmatic and others participated in the meeting.
“Bulgaria is a strategically important country for investments. We are developing capabilities to become an innovation hub in Southeast Europe, which will increase both our global competitiveness and that of the region. We have focus on attracting investments in high and deep technologies and sectors with high added value for the economy,” said Minister Stoycheva.
The chairman of the American-Central European Business Association, Eric Stewart, who led the delegation of American companies in Sofia last week, emphasized that American companies have a strong interest in investing in Bulgaria.
Stoycheva outlined the measures by which the Ministry of Innovation and Growth is working to optimize administrative procedures and increase the effectiveness of financial incentive measures.
The two sides outlined the next steps and a coordinated approach for the cooperation between the Ministry of Innovation and Growth and the Bulgarian Investment Agency and the American Business Association.
Later, the Minister of Innovation and Growth held meetings with representatives of the Department of State responsible for Trade and Economic Affairs, Science, Communications, Technology and Space.
“We have identified five areas of smart specialization in which we have focused our efforts – information and communication technologies, mechatronics and microelectronics, healthy living industry, bioeconomy and biotechnology, creative and creative industries, circular and low-carbon economy. We need to put Bulgaria on the world map of countries with highly developed technologies,” said Minister Stoycheva.
She emphasized that the Ministry is currently preparing the official administrative inclusion of Bulgaria in the Chips Joint Undertaking, which will finance the measures under the European Legislative Act on Integrated Circuits (European Chips Act). “Bulgaria needs a National Innovation Fund. We are creating an Innovation Board at the Ministry of Innovation and Growth and developing active measures to promote innovations, which are the basis of economic and technological growth,“ said Minister Stoycheva.
The meeting also discussed the specific steps that follow from Bulgaria’s accession to NASA’s Artemis Accords. “We are a partner in this agreement. It sets a new era in our strategic cooperation based on innovation,” Stoycheva said.
