The partners of the Vienna Economic Forum in Bulgaria – “Glavbolgarstroy Holding” participated in a meeting of the forum in Sofia

A conference entitled “Continuing to build economic bridges in difficult times” gathered members of the Board of Directors of the Vienna Economic Forum, politicians, business experts and entrepreneurs in Sofia to discuss the current challenges and opportunities facing the regional and global economy.
Last year, the Bulgarian construction company “Glavbolgarstroy” became the official representation of the Forum in Bulgaria, starting joint work on deepening the organization’s activities in the country, in line with the general strategy for promoting regional economic cooperation.

The event at the “Boyana” residence was opened by Ambassador Dr. Elena Kircheva, founder and general secretary of the Vienna Economic Forum, and Ambassador Dr. Emil Brix, director of the Vienna Diplomatic Academy and president of VIF.

According to Ambassador Kircheva, holding an edition of the forum in Sofia is another proof that the common interests of active economic subjects, committed to the serious desire for prosperity of the region from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, are working, and the motto of the forum is “Economy is the motor” truer than ever. The forum continues to prove itself as the European economic platform where visionaries meet, she added.

In the panel focused on the economic and financial stability of the region, Kalin Peshov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glavbolgarstroy Holding and member of the Board of Directors of the Vienna Forum, gave an example of the different types of bridge facilities in construction, drawing a parallel with economic bridges , which exist, are visible and perform their function. In addition, his speech drew attention to the topic of Bulgaria’s full membership in Schengen – a goal to which we must strive. According to him, entering the Schengen area with land borders will further expand the opportunities for the economy in the region.

“There are girder bridges, there are cable-stayed bridges, but there are not hundreds of types. It is the same in life. We have bridges between nations, between countries and between people. They are built on the basis of culture, sports and the economy that we still talk about today. Before “seventeen years ago, our company built two hospitals in North Macedonia, and fourteen years ago – the iconic building of the Courthouse in Kosovo. We have a lot of employees from Albania. In the last five years, we have an extremely strong partnership with Turkey for materials and outsourcing,” he said Kalin Peshov.

The Minister of Economy Petko Nikolov also spoke about the importance of Schengen, according to whom full accession to Schengen will ensure economic security for all economies in the region.
“The overall effect of Bulgaria’s land accession to Schengen is estimated at over BGN 1 billion in regional losses per year. Bulgaria supports the accession of all Western Balkan countries to the EU. Expanding transport and energy regional connectivity is key to addressing broken chains of supplies. The Vienna Economic Forum initiative is an opportunity for economic development not only for the region, but also for the entire EU,” said Minister Nikolov.

Björn Gabriel, head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) for North Macedonia, Anka Ioana Ionescu, director of the “European Bank for Reconstruction and Development” (EBRD) for Bulgaria, and the financial consultant also took part in the discussion on the topic of the economic connectivity of Europe. and former CEO of “Raiffeisen Bank International AG” Dr. Herbert Stepich.