Bulgarian companies can apply for infrastructure projects worth over $ 7 billion to be implemented in the Lebanese Republic. This became clear during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev and Minister of Telecommunications and Chairman of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Lebanon Mohammad Shukair. Funding for them is from the so-called CEDRE Conference (CEDRE) and will be launched in the near future.

Bulgaria will support Lebanon with expertise in the field of small and medium enterprises, management of industrial zones and investment promotion. This was agreed between Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev and Minister of State for Foreign Trade Hassan Mrad. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries is to be prepared and signed in the second half of 2019. Actions to promote bilateral exports were also discussed.

Deputy Minister Manolev is in Lebanon leading a business delegation including 30 Bulgarian companies. The visit is part of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Lebanese Republic.

Lebanese companies have invested more than 40m euros in Bulgaria since 2008. These statistics were presented by Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during a bilateral business forum in Beirut. The official opening of the event was attended by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and the Minister of Telecommunications and Chairman of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Lebanon Mohammad Shukair.

“In 2018, trade between Bulgaria and Lebanon is worth $ 175 million, which is an increase of over 20%,” said Deputy Minister Manolev. Imports from Lebanon have more than doubled, and Bulgarian exports exceed $ 80 million. e. “We see a prospect for increasing the export of Bulgarian goods,” said Alexander Manolev. According to him, trade should not lead us forward in our bilateral economic relations. “We must work to exchange experience in strategic areas, to launch long-term partnerships to enter third markets and, last but not least, to encourage investment between our two countries,” said the Deputy Minister of Economy.

Alexander Manolev is in Lebanon at the head of a business delegation including over 30 Bulgarian companies. The visit is part of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Lebanese Republic.

Over BGN 10 million have been invested in the hotel infrastructure of the town of Sandanski in the last 2 years. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during the opening of the expansion of the Pirin Park Hotel.

“In recent years, we have seen steady growth in the tourism sector, and every year the hotels in the municipality welcome more and more tourists,” said Deputy Minister Manolev. According to him, most tourists mean not only turnover for large hotels, but also more money in the local economy. “The opening of more accommodation is a step towards fulfilling our strategic goal – to establish Sandanski as a year-round tourist destination with an average length of stay of tourists of at least 5 nights,” he said.

Alexander Manolev also honored the memory of the owner of the hotel Stefan Sharlopov, who was not only the engine of the project, but also worked for the establishment of Sandanski as one of the best places for spa tourism in Bulgaria.

The event was attended by the mayor of Sandanski Kiril Kotev, municipal councilors, mayors of settlements, representatives of the Union of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs and others.

Improving the partnership in the field of defense and military-industrial production was discussed during a meeting of Deputy Minister Alexander Manolev with the Minister of State for Military Production Dr. Mohammed Saeed al-Assar and with Lieutenant-General Abdel Moneim Al-Terras, Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization.

Opportunities for strategic partnership and identification of areas for exchange of know-how were discussed during the meeting. Alexander Manolev emphasizes the opportunities of the private and public sector in the field of defense industry in Bulgaria.

Deputy Minister Manolev is in Egypt heading a business delegation including 40 Bulgarian companies. The visit is part of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

2017 was a record year for trade relations between Bulgaria and Egypt. Tthis was emphasized during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev and Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They also took part in the opening of a bilateral business forum, which brought together more than 100 companies in Cairo yesterday.

During the conversation, the Bulgarian Deputy Minister stressed that in 2018 there is a retreat in bilateral trade, so the main goal of the business forum and visit to Egypt is to identify measures to resume the positive trend and launch new projects between businesses. “I believe that the business forum is a very good opportunity to exchange information and to launch specific projects between companies on both sides,” said Deputy Minister Manolev.

Alexander Manolev is in Egypt heading a business delegation including nearly 40 Bulgarian companies. The events are part of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Bulgaria can expand its presence on the Egyptian market with goods from the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as products with high added value. This was emphasized by Deputy Minister Manolev during his meeting with The Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar.

They agreed to carry out works and organize an Egyptian business delegation to visit Bulgaria and get acquainted with the possibility of investing in Bulgarian industrial zones. The Egyptian side is also interested in exchanging experience in the field of automotive and mechanical engineering.

Deputy Minister Manolev is part of the delegation of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev during his visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Bulgarian exports have doubled in ten years and now exceed BGN 56 billion a year. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during the opening of the forum “Global macro-trends and their impact on the competitiveness of CEE”, organized by the Economic Policy Institute with the support of the Hans Seidel Foundation.

The Deputy Minister of Economy drew attention to the next industrial revolution in which humanity is entering – “Industry 4.0”. “In the economic sphere, the only way to be one of the countries that will benefit from it, and not those that will lose, is to create much, even stronger ties with our neighboring countries,” he said, congratulating the organizers on focus on regional partnership and global trends.

Today’s conference is the 15th edition of a series of thematic conferences “Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy”, organized by the Economic Policy Institute together with the Hans Seidel Foundation. Among the speakers are experts from Bulgaria and abroad.

For two years the registered growth of foreign direct investment exceeds BGN 1 billion. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during the forum “Europe and Business: Economy, Youth Entrepreneurship and Cross-Border Cooperation” organized by Entrepreneurs – GERB in Ruse.

The event was attended by the Mayor of Ruse Plamen Stoilov, MP Plamen Nunev, MEP Eva Maydell and others.