"There has been no major event in the past ten years to support the establishment of direct business contacts between companies from our two countries, for me and the team of the agency I am leading, it is a great challenge to set up this business delegation. Despite the impressive growth of bilateral trade in excess of 34% in the first half of 2018, we see many untapped opportunities for developing trade and investment partnerships, and they are mostly in further diversification of trade flows between Bulgaria and Spain. " - said Boyko Takov, Executive Director of BSMEPA, in the opening part of the Bulgarian-Spanish Business Forum.

The Business Forum with Bulgaria-Spain Bilateral Meetings is held in Madrid, with 15 Bulgarian companies taking part in it with the assistance of the The Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency. Agency partners from the Spanish side in the organization of the event are organizations with established European and international image - the Confederation of Spanish Entrepreneurship Organizations, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain.

"We have been very careful to set up the business mission because we believe that this forum can play a key role in the diversification process of bilateral trade. That is why the companies included in the business delegation on the one hand are representatives of traditional Bulgarian export-oriented sectors such as the food industry, textiles and clothing, tourism and, on the other hand, companies from the leading sector of information and communication technologies, construction and architecture. "- added Dr. Boyko Takov after presenting the activity of BSMEPA, which he defines as a worthy partner of the Spanish organizations.

Among the participants of the forum were Secretary of State for Trade of the Kingdom of Spain, the president of the Confederation of Spanish entrepreneurial organizations, the Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and others. Later, the event transformed into bilateral business meetings between Bulgarian and Spanish companies.

BSMEPA and ICEX with readiness for deeper cooperation

During a working visit to Spain, the Executive Director of The Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency /BSMEPA/ Dr. Boyko Takov met with Mr. Alberto Cerdan, General Director of ICEX / Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior / - Agency for Foreign Trade to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain.

During the meeting, both exchanged experience and discussed opportunities for future joint projects. Mr. Takov and Mr. Cerdan declared their support for further in-depth cooperation between the institutions, actively working to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. ICEX, which has focused its activities on encouraging Spanish companies to export and facilitating their international expansion, presented their best practices in support of the SME sector's competitiveness, which will be implemented by BSMEPA in the future.

There was also a discussion on holding a business forum in Bulgaria. During this forum Bulgarian companies will have the opportunity to meet with their potential partners from Spain and to create fruitful business contacts.