On the sidelines of the Bulgarian-Greek business forum on October 3 – Sofia Efraimoglou – President of Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) – gave an exclusive interview for banker.bg
Mrs. Efraimoglou, which industrial sectors do you consider the most promising for cooperation or even joint ventures between Greece and Bulgaria?
– Well, I believe that there are opportunities in many, many sectors, like the services business where most companies are focused on in Bulgaria. And there is the energy sector – very interesting and very important, food and beverages, and of course, as we mentioned today on the forum, there are the startups where we have an amazing program, and we are partners with the University of Ruse in this area. So, we have the opportunity to do many things in that program.
With your InvestBulgaria Agency we discuss doing something with the startup assistance in both countries, because we have very hard-working new companies innovative in all sectors of economy. And I think that these startups need to work together to become bigger.
Do you have any impressions on the quality of the Bulgarian business which Greek firms already work with?
– We have many Greek companies working here in Bulgaria. I also have one in the IT sector, and I work closely with one firm here. And it is very easy for me working remotely.
Which areas, in your view, are most suitable for coordinated enter (Bulgarian and Greek) in foreign markets?
– It’s definitely the energy sector, also food industry and, of course, IT sector and logistics.
Do you want to share something else for our audience?
– Greece and Bulgaria have strong friendly ties. It’s the geographical proximity that helps us. I believe that when Bulgaria becomes a full member of Schengen area (and if there is something we could do for, we are ready to help) it will also be very helpful. So, we are here, and it is a good start.
As far as I remember, we have relationship with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 1994. We renewed this Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation last year, because we are determined to work for the two governments, the two business communities and to do more in building the economic and business relations and helping companies go together. And this is a nice start today here, after the forum, to have peer-to-peer meetings between the delegations, organized by the Chamber and the Embassy. I hope that this will be the best start for future mutual beneficial relations.
