site.btaInnovation Minister: Bulgaria, Romania to Sign Agreement on Cooperation in Innovation Field

Bulgaria and Romania will sign an agreement on cooperation in the field of innovation and new technologies in early October, Innovation Minister Milena Stoycheva told BTA on Thursday. She visited Bucharest, where she took part in the business forum of the Three Seas Initiative.

"Our country has good characteristics in terms of education, developed IT specialists who can be the basis of the new teams being built. They can use digital technologies as a means of connectivity between sectors, but also between regions, between countries," Stoycheva explained. She added that such digital connectivity and infrastructure will also be one of the priorities of the new innovation fund being initiated under the Three Seas Initiative.

"We participated with EUR 20 million in the previous fund and had very strong, successful investments in alternative energy and data centres. Now we will be among the first participants in the new innovative fund. We have already stated this. On behalf of and through the Bulgarian Development Bank, we envisage EUR 10 million, between EUR 5 million and EUR 10 million in the first fund. The amount will eventually be the same in the second one," Stoycheva stated.

Discussions are also underway with representatives of other development banks and various financial institutions, she pointed out. The involvement of the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, and the Bank for Reconstruction and Development is expected.

The Innovation Minister noted that she has also had meetings with potential investors - high-tech companies, with Amazon Web Services representatives. "Learning about our achievements, what we can offer as opportunities, they already choose to visit us and bring their teams," Stoycheva clarified.