Bulgaria's President Urges Integration among Businesses in Balkan Countries

Speaking during an official visit to Serbia, Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev stated that regional neighborhood was the most precious value in the Balkan countries.

Plevneliev took part in a forum attended by over 50 business representatives from the two countries.

Addressing entrepreneurs from Serbia and Bulgaria, Plevneliev reminded that a similar forum had been organized in Sofia in 2013.

He noted that he and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic had been taken by surprise by the fact that the hall of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had been too small to accommodate all business representatives seeking to take part in the event.

Plevneliev underscored the great potential of the region, adding that investments did not just arrive in one country or another and factories did not produce goods for the separate countries either.

Stressing that the business development of the countries in the region was not supposed to be considered in isolation, he stated that Bulgaria was happy about new capacity in the region, regardless of where it was being launched.

"Only by acting in concert as a region can we improve the business environment and attract investments. Integration among the people on the Balkans is happening and we want that to happen among businesses on the Balkans too," Bulgaria's President said, as cited by a correspondent of the BGNES news agency.

Plevneliev also spoke in favor of the establishment of a regional energy exchange that would provide an opportunity for accessing energy resources at competitive market prices.

He also reminded that Bulgaria had invested over EUR 1 B in the construction of projects on the route of Pan-European Corridor X, adding that it was a priority project for...