President Rumen Radev: Turkyie is our biggest trading and economic partner outside the EU

Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria last year grew by 38% on an annual basis and exceeded BGN 3.6 billion, which is a serious record for recent years, President Rumen Radev said on September 10 in Shumen at the opening of a 140 million BGN investment in a metallurgical plant. This is the surest sign of foreign investors' confidence in Bulgaria, he further said.

According to the President, the investment is an indicator of the upward trend in the development of Bulgarian-Turkish trade and economic relations. Rumen Radev stressed that Turkyie is a good neighbour, friend and ally, but also the biggest trading and ecpnomic partner outside the European Union.

The bilateral trade exchange between the two countries amounts to BGN 7 billion and will soon reach BGN 10 billion, President Rumen Radev further said. More than 2,000 Turkish companies have invested their capital in Bulgaria and created 15,000 jobs. This is a sign of improvement of the investment climate in Bulgaria.

"I would like to underline an important trend - the share of reinvested profit in Bulgaria is growing and this is the surest sign of the foreign investor's confidence in our country. Today's event is another important sign of the much needed continuity in our institutions when it comes to such strategic projects. The work on this project started under my caretaker government and was successfully completed under the regular government," said Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria.