The President of Varna Free University Prof. Anna Nedyalkova, D.Sc. took part in the work of the prestigious economic forum in Plovdiv
The Prime Minister Boyko Borisov opened the first Plovdiv Economic Forum, which took place on 21 and 22 June in the Imperial Hotel in Plovdiv. In his address, the prime minister stressed that the forum in Plovdiv is a natural continuation of the Delphic Economic Forum held in March in Greece.
Over 80 were the participants in the forum whose aim was to identify the challenges faced by economic growth.
The event was attended by members of the Bulgarian government – the Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, the Deputy Prime Minister for Justice Reform and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Minister of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union Lilyana Pavlova, the Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova , the Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov, the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Nikolay Nankov, other representatives of the central government and the private sector in Bulgaria.
The forum was attended by Serbia's Energy Minister Aleksandar Antich, the EU World Bank Regional Director Arup Banerdzhi, the Romanian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Dzhordze Chamba, the former Minister of State and Minister of Trade and Investment of the United Kingdom and member of the House of Lords Lord Francis Maude, the former Minister of the Hellenic Republic and Commissioner in the European Commission Anna Diamantopoulou, as well as other distinguished and opinion-forming figures from Europe and Bulgaria, including the president of Varna Free University Prof. Anna Nedyalkova, D.Sc.
Among the topics discussed were: visions for the future of the EU, geopolitics of the regions, enlargement of the Eurozone, the EU energy and banking unions, prospects for the Western Balkans, capital formation and development of foreign direct investment in Bulgaria, corruption, regional development and economic clusters, improvements in education, demographic challenges, open data entry, robotics and artificial intelligence, the rule of law and the security of property rights.
One of the focal points of the forum was the circular economy, which became the No. 1 priority for the European Union and the European Commission.
"I cannot help addressing Georges Kremlis, the man should revere. What he has done in the sphere of ecology and for highways in Bulgaria is a lot. One day, Georges, I will tell everybody what is your contribution to each site," said Borisov to the guest.
Georges Kremlis, Honorary Director of the Directorate-General for theEnvironment of the European Commission, responsible for Circular Economy, stressed the need to build a circular economy strategy that could have a positive environmental impact.
Kremlis is one of the main lecturers in the newly established master's degree programme in circular economy at Varna Free University - the only one of its kind in Bulgaria. Here is what else he said during the prestigious forum.