Bulgarian business is booming

Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov visited Warsaw last week with a Bulgarian trade delegation to promote economic cooperation between his country and Poland. Parvanov met with Polish President Lech Kaczyński to talk about energy policy, the future of the Balkan region and relations with Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

While Polish-Bulgarian trade relations are good, the possibility for a closer relationship remains, both presidents agreed. "There is a great potential for extending the cooperation between Bulgaria and Poland, both bilaterally and within the EU and NATO frameworks," President Kaczyński commented.

"The [annual] rate of trade will soon reach €1 [zł.3.45] billion," Parvanov noted during a meeting with Polish businesspeople at the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KiG).

Bulgaria is an attractive investment destination, Parvanov told Polish entrepreneurs, pointing to the country's "investor friendly" tax system, its good relationship with its neighboring countries, as well as its internal stability and economic growth. "We are an island of stability in the Balkan region," Parvanov said. He also stressed energy and agriculture as major areas for cooperation and knowledge exchange between the two countries, especially in the context of the EU.

Last year Polish companies invested a total of €25.6 (zł.88.3) million in Bulgaria, according to Bulgarian National Bank data, while the Polish embassy in Sofia noted that Bulgarian investments in Poland reached €0.8 (zł.2.76) million. The rate of economic exchange between Poland and Bulgaria is on the rise and reached €590.7 (zł.2,037) million last year, 14.2 percent higher than in 2006, according to data from the Polish Ministry of Economy.

Poland's major exports to Bulgaria include furniture, zinc ore, lead, medicine, white goods, paper and food. Imports from Bulgaria, meanwhile, include steel roll, wine, rolling stock, animal feed, and synthetic yarn.