The Presidents of Bulgaria and Serbia, Rosen Plevneliev and Tomislav Nikolic encouraged the business environment in the two countries to expand its cooperation so as to secure more investments and more joint productions. The two presidents opened a joint Bulgarian-Serbian business forum in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in which more than 100 Bulgarian and Serbian companies participate.

The risk is becoming smaller and the prospects are improving, President Plevneliev addressed the participants in the forum and called on the representatives of the business environment in the two countries to think not only in local terms, but also in regional terms. “We can attract new investments only if we work together,” the Head of State emphasized.  He called on the Serbian business circles to become more active and outlined the advantages of having access to the Bulgarian Black Sea docks as well as the increasing number of Serbian tourists to the Bulgarian resorts.

The two presidents emphasized the great potential of the bilateral trade relations, the prerequisite for which is the friendly relations between the two peoples and their common European future. According to the Bulgarian Head of State, Serbia’s EU integration will further encourage the contacts and will improve the interaction between the Bulgarian and Serbian companies.

Rosen Plevneliev and Tomislav Nikolic called on the business circles to accelerate the work on the joint infrastructure sites, among which are the Sofia-Nis highway, the interconnector gas link between Bulgaria and Serbia and the construction of new border checkpoints.

The program for cross-border cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia, the launching of joint projects under the EU Danube strategy, the participation in common European and regional projects, as well as the establishment of the two countries’ cultural centers in Sofia and Belgrade provide new opportunities for strengthening the links between the two countries.