site.btaThessaloniki International Fair Kicks Off, Bulgaria Is Honored Country

The Thessaloniki International Trade Fair will start on Saturday and will run until September 17 at the International Exhibition and Congress Centre in the city. This year Bulgaria is an Honored Country of the fair. The Bulgarian stand will be opened by the Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was expected to attend the opening, but he cancelled his visit to Thessaloniki over the weekend to be in the areas affected by severe flooding. His traditional programme speech as well as his press conference are scheduled to take place next week.

Some 60 Bulgarian companies will be exhibiting at the fair in Pavilion 13. The Bulgarian participation is organized by the Economy.

The Bulgarian national stand in Thessaloniki will also feature organizations and institutions, including the Bulgarian Investment Agency, the National Company of Industrial Zones, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, etc. Dozens of Bulgarian companies from various sectors such as high-tech and IT, companies related to the food industry, education, transport, mechanical engineering and others will present their activities at separate stands.

“The Thessaloniki Fair is one of the key economic events in our southern neighbor,” Bogdanov told BTA. "Being an honorary guest means a lot, in the previous few years among the countries before Bulgaria were India, Germany, the US and the UAE," he noted. The Economy Minister point out that it was important for Bulgaria to show a new technological face, targeting companies and projects related to high technology and priority sectors of regional importance.

Greece is one of Bulgaria's key trade partners – in 2022 alone the trade between the two countries amounted close to EUR 6 billion.

A total of 18 countries will participate in this year's Thessaloniki Fair. South Korea, Moldova and Thailand will be present for the first time. Cyprus, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Uruguay, Ukraine, Armenia, Iran, Italy, Poland, Serbia, India and Nepal will also take part.