site.btaBulgaria and Greece Are Good Trading Partners: Greek Development Minister

Bulgaria and Greece are good trading partners in the Balkans and in the last year Bulgaria has turned out to be the fourth most important destination for Greece's exports. This is what Panagiotis Theodorikakos, Minister of Development of Greece, said during a panel discussion on competitiveness, economic development and effective public-private partnerships as a benchmark for the CEE region on the fifth day of the Green Transition Forum 5.0: Competitiveness and Innovation in Central and Eastern Europe in Sofia.

According to Theodorikakos, the relations between Bulgaria and Greece are friendly and this is an economic-political process that is needed. “We should share our common desires for the prosperity of the whole region,” he noted. 

Theodorikakos focused on the Greek economy, noting that it is currently growing at a rate 2% higher than the euro area average. “Unemployment is the lowest in decades, taxes have been cut and throughout this period we have continued to overcome the consequences of the crisis and Greece as a whole is reducing its public debt,” he said.

According to him, the development of humanity is currently in a period of instability around the world especially in regions that are close to Bulgaria and Greece. 

Giorgos Kremlis, Ambassador of the European Public Law Organisation to Bulgaria, said that the Green Transition Forum is growing year by year in terms of its scope and importance and in that it is attracting more and more high-profile guests and speakers. “It is a multidisciplinary forum that discusses the challenges we face in the region, in our neighbouring countries. It provides knowledge, expertise, best practices and these are shared among all 30 countries whose representatives have participated in the conference so far, he said. 

He said countries should do more to develop green energy. 

Former Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev also joined the discussion, saying that cooperation should be strengthened by the countries of the region. “It is clear that if we want to avoid being on the periphery in this dramatically changing world, we need to cooperate, find common points and have a strong voice in Brussels,” Stanishev said. "If we want Europe to be successful, our voice has to be taken into account in the policies that are changing at the moment, otherwise we will be isolated,” he added.

More than 3,500 participants from over 30 countries are attending the five-day Green Transition Forum 5.0 at Sofia Event Centre, which runs until June 20. The forum gathers EU commissioners, ministers, MEPs, Nobel Prize laureates and top executives from global companies to discuss a range of topics including energy security, sustainable finance, digitalization, and innovation in the CEE region. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, and Professor Daron Acemoglu—2024 Nobel laureate in Economics—are among the keynote speakers.