Bulgaria Innovations Forum Attracts Govt Support

The government vowed all-out support for research and development during Bulgaria’s Sixth Annual Innovations Forum, which took place in Sofia Monday.

The Innovations Forum is organized by the Applied Research and Communications Fund, a Bulgarian R&D institute, in cooperation with the Economy Ministry and the World Bank mission in Bulgaria. The Forum is entitled: “Science, Technological Development, and Innovations: Policies for Growth and Development during the Next Decade.”

The Mechanics Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the “CAD/CAM/CAE in Industry” Laboratory of the Technical University in Sofia, received the awards of the forum in the research organizations category.

The companies which got awards for their technological development projects are the AMK Drives and Controls, Bianor Services, Tehkeramika, and Dissy.

OPAK Engineering received the award in the category for a firm with under 50 employees in the “National Competition for Innovative Enterprises” of the Economy Ministry. Smartcom Bulgaria received the award in the category of medium-size and large company of the same competition.

During the Annual Innovations Forum, Bulgaria’s Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov, said the government’s National Investment Fund already had BGN 5 M allocated for innovative projects, and that in March the government will start the procedure under the EU operational program “Competitiveness.”

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, admitted during the forum that Bulgaria was falling seriously behind in the innovations and R&D sector.

“Google invested more money into innovations than the entire EU,” Borisov said adding that his government, just like the EC, was well-aware that this situation needs to be rectified.

Borisov announced that “one of the largest companies in the world” was interested in investing in Bulgaria, and that he hoped these plans would materialize in the coming months because of Bulgaria’s very good tax and social environment for investment.

He also said he hoped American companies with interest in Bulgaria would invest USD 200-300 M in the Bulgarian economy in the short run.

Borisov’s appearance at the Innovations Forum did not go without a joke as he asked the organizers what was the material award for the prize winners, and was told the price was “a photo with the Prime Minister.”

Florian Fichtl, the permanent representative of the World Bank in Bulgaria, said during the forum that the education system was the key prerequisite for a knowledge-based economy. He pointed out that the Bulgarian education was not based on competition, and as a result the level of scientific research is lower in Bulgaria compared to other EU states, which in turn led to a weak connection between research and development and the real economy.