Bulgarian Minister Highlights 5 Spheres to Bring Economic Growth in 2013

Delyan Dobrev, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, has outlined five spheres which can stimulate economic growth in 2013.

Speaking Monday during the 7th annual meeting the government and the business sector, he said that Bulgaria would achieve economic growth by attracting more investments.

Dobrev, as cited by investor.bg, listed the Competitiveness Operational Program as one of the possible sources.

He suggested that EU programs could provide over BGN 1.5 B for innovations in Bulgaria.

Dobrev further dwelt on the importance of encouraging investments and the merits of the legal amendments to the Investment Promotion Act adopted last week.

He said that one of the measures involved covering social security payments of large investors in Bulgaria.

"This reduces human resources expenses by 17.4%," Dobrev added.

Bulgaria's Economy Minister also highlighted that domestic consumption could also trigger economic growth.

He said that the Bulgarian government was working to stimulate export, which would also be a measure deployed in the next programming period.

Dobrev yet again reminded that the structure of export had to be changed and export-oriented enterprises had to be supported.

He noted that tourism could also bring economic growth, specifying that the potential of many sites to attract new tourists was limited.

"At Sunny Beach, the places on the beach are limited compared to the 250 000 beds in the hotels of the resort," Dobrev emphasized, adding that there were niches like SPA tourism which were yet to be developed.

Bulgaria's' Economy Minister also highlighted the opportunity to set foot on new markets like China.

Dobrev said that he had registered substantial interest in Bulgaria as a tourist destination during his recent visit to China.