State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Sven Giegold, yesterday met the Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of Bulgaria, Dimitar Danchev, for talks in Berlin.

The German-Bulgarian Cooperation Council will be tasked with promoting economic cooperation at the level of both ministries. To this end, a reform of the currently dormant body, which dates back to the time of the transformation, was launched yesterday. The Cooperation Council is to now quickly produce results as it sets about its work in cooperation with interested business enterprises and associations.

State Secretary Sven Giegold commented: “The Bulgarian people voted in favour of economic reform and the rule of law. This opens up great opportunities for deepening our economic relations. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine presents both our countries with major energy supply challenges. Bulgaria and Germany can work together to quickly become independent of Russian fossil fuels by boosting energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy sources. We welcome the many concrete proposals by the Bulgarian government on stepping up cooperation in many sectors of the economy.”

German-Bulgarian economic relations have developed very well since the country’s accession to the European Union. Germany is Bulgaria’s most important trading partner and its number one foreign market for goods made in Bulgaria. In 2021, our bilateral trade reached a new record high of €9.8 billion. The German Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria has 600 members.