BULGARIAN – TURKISH BUSINESS FORUM

11:00 – 11:30

Official opening speeches:

Moderator: …………. (TBC)

Boyko Takov, PhD., Executive director, BSMEPA

Mr Alexander Poulev, Minister of Innovation and Growth of the Republic of Bulgaria

Mr. ……., Minister of Trade of the Republic ofTürkiye (TBC)

H.E. Ms Aylin Sekizkök, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Türkiye in the Republic of Bulgaria

Prof. Dr. Sc. Maria Neykova, Governor of Burgas District/Mr Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas (TBC)

Mr. Fikret Ince, Honorable Chairman, Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mr. Zeki Saribekir, Chairman of The Council for Foreign Economic Relations of Turkey (DEIK)Mr. Hasan Basri Kurt, President of KOSGEB

11:30 – 11:40

Signing Ceremony – Signing a MoU between BSMEPA and KOSGEB

11:40 – 12:00

Panel I: Opportunities for financing for SMEs under European Programs and Projects

Moderator: ………….

1. Possibilities for cooperation with common projects within the new Operational Program 2021-2027 – Ms. Iliyana Ilieva, Director General, Directorate General “European Competitiveness Funds”, Ministry of Innovation and Growth

2. ……………………… – Mr. Iliya Karanikolov, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, Bulgarian Development Bank

3. …………………….. – Mr. Martin Gikov, Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria

12:00 – 12:15 – Coffee Break

Panel II: Doing Business in Bulgaria/Türkiye
Moderator: Latchezar Petkov, Director, Internationalization of SMEs Directorate, BSMEPA

1. Startup eco system in Bulgaria/ Türkiye
   – Ms. Irina Obushtarova, The Recursive

• Ms. Elif İşgör, Sistem Global Company, Bultişad member

1. Logistic advantages in Bulgaria / Türkiye
   – arch. Lyubomir Stanislavov, CEO & Member of Board, Automotive Cluster Bulgaria
   – E-commerce related logistic opportunities of Bulgaria for Turkish Exporters – Ms. Milena Ramcheva, Metrica, Bultişad member
2. Nearshoring
   – Mr. Ilia Krastev, Chairman of the Managing Board of AIBEST

• Bilateral Trade Relations and reasons for Turkish investors to choose Bulgaria – Ms. Sinem Taştan, Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in Sofia
• Presentation of Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce – Mr. Burhan Nemutlu, Chariman of the Board of Bultişad

12:45 – 13:30

Panel III: Financial instruments for future collaboration areas between Bulgaria and Türkiye

Moderator: Mr. Emrah Sazak, Deputy Chairman of the Turkish-Bulgarian Business Council at the Council for Foreign Economic Relations of Turkey (DEIK)

European Programs:

– “Possibilities for financing SMEs under INTERREG VI-A Program IPP Bulgaria-Türkiye, Priority 1 “Environmentally friendly cross-border region” – Mr. Milen Obretenov, director of directorate “Management of cross-border cooperation”

– Strategy Board of the Territorial Strategy under the (Interreg VI-A)IPA Bulgaria-Türkiye Programme 2021-2027 – Mrs. Güliz Elif Tardimci, Strategy Board Member, EU and Foreign Affairs Edirne Chamber of Commerce and Industry

– Innovation ecosystem and “innovation related EU funding” best practices in Turkiye – Mr. Huseyin Guler, Deik Bulgaria Council, Board Member

– HORIZONT 2020 – Assoc. prof. Boyan Jekov, PhD, National Coordinator for Horizont Europe – Single Market COSME Programme & Experiences from Türkiye – Mr. Ümit ÇAKAR, SME Expert, KOSGEB

13:30 – 14:30 – Catering / Luncheon cocktail

14:30 – 17:00 B2B meetings

*Official languages: Bulgarian and Turkish