Bulgarian Minister of Economy Bozhidar Lukarski, together with Thomas Bruns, Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia and Bulgarian ambassador to the United States – Elena Poptodorova are to work together for the successful performance of small and medium companies from Bulgaria on the US market. Here is what Minister Lukarski told Radio Bulgaria: 

"From my visit to the US and my discussions with American businessmen I found out that the problem of Bulgarian companies is that they target a small group of Bulgarians living in the US, but this is a very small part of the US market. The American mass consumer can also be a target if adequate marketing policy is used. US citizens show interest in products of the Bulgarian dairy industry and Bulgarian wines. " 
 
Minister Lukarski believes that one of the most promising niches for Bulgarian producers is the American Midwest, where European goods are rarely found. Merging interested producers in a cluster will help their better performance on the US market and would reduce costs and increase the effectiveness of marketing activities. The Minister vowed to personally work for the promotion of Bulgarian producers in the USA, especially after duty taxes in bilateral trade are lifted after signing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). 
 
Similar measures to stimulate exports to third countries, including Singapore, China, countries in the Middle East and others are also planned. Resources of European programs will also be absorbed in order to help small and medium companies, which in recent years fight for survival. The Ministry of Economy also plans to offer relaxed licensing and regulatory regimes to stimulate the business. 
 
The Minister of Economy told us more about the priorities of the program: 
"Our ambition is to have visible changes in the period 2015-2016-th in the following five areas: improving the business environment and reducing administrative burdens. Promoting and supporting small and medium business, transparency in absorption of EU funds under the Competitiveness OP, encouraging investments and achieving changes in the education system as a result of interaction between business, universities and secondary schools and the labor market. Many businessmen complain that there is a shortage of personnel in key sectors. At the same time, there are too many experts in other industries that stay unemployed." 
 
After a year without privatization deals in 2015 a part of state assets are expected to become private. What are the main priorities in privatization?
"It is unclear why during the term in office of the previous government, privatization has not been conducted. There was a draft plan, which was not approved in the end. Our ambition, together with the Executive Director of the Agency for Privatization is to take out the companies that have not been privatized yet and where a real economic impact is possible. This will be done through the stock market or through open tenders. There is a clear purpose - as serious deficit in the budget exists, this is one of the means to overcome it," says in conclusion Minister Bozhidar Lukarsksi in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.

English: Alexander Markov