Bulgaria is interested in taking part in infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan, particularly in the reconstruction program of liberated territories, Bulgaria's Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Nikolay Pavlov said in an interview with Report.
"We are exploring very actively all the opportunities that we have for investments. As has been mentioned during our bilateral intergovernmental session in Baku a few months ago, we discussed, that we put special attention to the investment opportunities between our two countries. We realize the strategic position that Azerbaijan has in their region. The Azerbaijani also share the opinion that Bulgaria is located in a very strategic position in the European continent in the heart of the Balkan region. It's good news that very probably in a few months, Bulgaria will become part of the Schengen area fully, which will bring us also one new competitive advantage. From there on, we discussed investment opportunities, about our economic zones," noted the deputy minister.
Pavlov acknowledged his awareness of economic zones in Azerbaijan and emphasized that Bulgaria also promotes industrial zones ready to attract significant investments and industrial enterprises: "Bulgaria plays a strategic role as a gateway to the large European market. Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, I want to state that the Bulgarian government is ready to support any investment interest and initiative. We are promoting all the opportunities that there are for important investments in both countries."
He added that recently, strong connections have been established at the highest level between companies of both countries in both political and economic spheres: "Recently, we had, on the 1st of July, the Intergovernmental Bulgarian-Azerbaijani Economic Session in Baku, the sixth one, after a long period without, on which we had the opportunity to discuss a lot of topics related to our economic relations. And I can say that in recent years, they are more and more intensive. We have fields in which, like energy, gas, and oil, in which we register a very high number of trades. And, of course, we explore new fields, other fields, on which we can diversify our economic relations."
Read the full interview here.