Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has called on businesses in Bulgaria and Croatia to "act and think regionally" while opening a bilateral business forum in Sofia.

The event is being held within the visit of Plevneliev's Croatian counterpart, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, to Bulgaria and has been inaugurated by the two heads of state.

"We want more Croatian companies to do business in Bulgaria, more Croatian investors to discover Bulgaria, we also want more Bulgarian companies to be active in Croatia," the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has quoted the President as saying.

Plevneliev has praised Bulgaria's "industrial culture", low tax rates, and the dynamic development of "certain sectors of the economy".

The President's press office quotes him as saying an improvement of regional cooperation will "the Balkans' industrial development and will reduce dependence on a single supplier of resources".

For her part, Grabar-Kitarovic has described bilateral economic ties as "modest", noting the two countries could do "much more" to boost exchange.

She has praised the "positive economic growth of Bulgaria" and and its development of Sofia as a "central European city" and "a strong center", but has also called for diversification of energy sources and the completion of gas interconnection among Southeastern European states.

"Croatia also depends on Bulgaria's successful experience in absorbing EU funding to speed up economic growth," the Bulgarian Presidency quotes Grabar-Kitarovic as saying. 

On Wednesday, the two Presidents met shortly after Grabar-Kitarovic's arrival, discussing possible cooperation in the areas of energy and infrastructure, alongside measures that EU member states should take after the Brussels attacks.

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