The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) celebrates Tuesday the 30th anniversary from its establishment.

The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Sofia in the presence of the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, Antonio Penalosa, Secretary General of the International Employers' Organization, ministers, members of the Parliament, heads of national institutions, NGOs, foreign delegations, social partners, companies, and the media.

BIA voiced during the forum their proposal for priority development of farming, tourism and improving the effectiveness of the State administration as the best ways to fight the economic crisis.

The BIA President, Bozhidar Danev, said during his keynote address that the crisis is a test for the vitality of the Bulgarian economy and an opportunity to modernize it, adding farming in Bulgaria must preserve biodiversity, tourism must use the country’s rich natural resources and infrastructure development needs to be based on concessions and public-private partnerships.

The Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Totyu Mladenov, spoke as a representative of the cabinet, thanking BIA for their work in the preparation of the anti-crisis measures package.

BIA'a also bestowed its annual IN-5 Awards at the forum. The name stands for the five basic pillars of economic prosperity: Industry, Investments, Innovations, Intellect, and Initiatives. The competition for top contributors to the Bulgarian economic development is held for the sixth year in a row.

During his visit to Bulgaria, on the occasion of BIA’s anniversary, Antonio Penalosa met Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, for a business breakfast as well as Totyu Mladenov, and President, Georgi Parvanov.