A three-day training course “Economic Diplomacy”, organized by the Diplomatic Institute, was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The course was opened by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Svetlan Stoev, who emphasized the importance of economic diplomacy for the successful implementation of national foreign policy priorities.
Among the lecturers in the course was Ms. Mila Nenova, Executive Director of InvestBulgaria Agency (IBA). Her participation emphasized the key role of investments in economic diplomacy and the importance of cooperation between institutions to attract strategic investments in the country. Ms. Nenova presented the activities of the agency with a detailed presentation, which touched upon topics such as industrial zones, startups, the good cooperation of the agency with municipalities and good examples from other European countries in her lecture on “Attracting investments, potential sectors and state mechanisms in support of investment projects”.
Within the framework of the training, the other lecturers discussed topical topics such as Bulgaria’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the internationalization of Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises, the introduction of the euro, attracting investments and the challenges facing the country’s energy system.
As part of the training, a practical exercise was also included, the purpose of which is to improve the professional qualification of the participants and the acquisition of practical skills in the field of economic diplomacy. The three-day course was attended by 30 civil servants from 7 ministries.