Business and Investment Forum in Istanbul

site.btaTurkish Businessmen at Forum in Istanbul: Go Invest in Bulgaria

BTA special correspondent Nora Cholakova, Kaloyan Vassev

BTA Photo

Istanbul,

26.01.2023 19:44

(BTA)

Over 60 leading Turkish companies from the automotive, engineering, healthcare and tourism sectors attended an International Business and Investment Forum in Istanbul, organized by the InvestBulgaria Agency on Thursday to present opportunities for expanding the business of Turkish companies in Bulgaria. Addressing the forum, leading Turkish businessmen already on the Bulgarian market called on their colleagues to go invest in Bulgaria.

Mehmet Sandal, chairman of the board of the Elopar electrical and automotive company, said the stability of the Bulgarian currency is a very favourable condition for Turkish investors and industrialists. Sandal also said he was very happy with his decision to invest in Bulgaria, where his company employs more than 5,000 people.

Abdullah Kilinc noted that before the Sisecam company became global, it had to become a regional company. The distance between Sisecam's factory in Kirklareli (Northwest Turkiye) and the factories in Bulgaria is shorter than "between our factories in Turkiye".

Mursel Gulen (Odelo) said they employ 500 people in their company's factory in Bulgaria and intend to increase their capacity.

Aydin Aydogan pointed out that the Acibadem company decided to invest in Bulgaria after it had improved the quality of its services in Turkiye, so it opted to share these high standards with other countries. "When we started investing, we needed to use know-how," Aydogan said, emphazising the positive aspects of Bulgarian healthcare.

Deniz Omer (Mikroak EOOD) said that Bulgaria offers the best advantages for businesses that want to operate in Europe. It is easy to find labour and the automotive cluster continues to grow.

The forum in Istanbul was opened by the caretaker Innovation and Growth Minister Alexander Pulev, Health Minister Assen Medjidiev, Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov, and Bulgaria's Ambassador to Turkiye Angel Cholakov. The event was also attended by InvestBulgaria Agency Executive Director Bogdan Bogdanov, as well as by the mayors of several Bulgarian municipalities. The Bulgarian delegation also included BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.

/DS/