Meeting of the Government Commision Baden-Württemberg - Bulgaria
On 15 and 16 of November 2012 was held in Sofia, the 6th Joint meeting of the Government Commission Baden-Württemberg - instead of Bulgaria. Head of the German delegation was Peter Friedrich, Federal Minister for Europe and International Affairs of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The Bulgarian delegation was headed by Ivan Naydenov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The joint commission between Baden-Württemberg and Bulgaria is founded in 2006 as a political institution at the ministerial level and contributes significantly to the expansion of the German-Bulgarian relations on a basis of equality and mutual benefit. The Commission shall be composed of representatives and experts from various ministries and agencies. The Steinbeis Danube Centre was represented by Ms. Rumjana Hilpert, to coordinate cooperation with the Bulgarian partners and projects between the two countries leads.
Minister Peter Frederick expressed his great satisfaction throught political talks in Sofia with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, the Chairman of the National Assembly, Ms Tsetska Tsatscheva, the Commission for European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds Chairman, Ms. Monika Panayotova and the Minister for Regional Development Lilyana Pavlova. New impact to the relations between Bulgaria and Baden-Württemberg is the visit of Prime Minister Kretschmann in Bulgaria as well as the visit of President Plevneliev in Baden-Württemberg in 2013.
As part of the program, a plenary session of the Joint Commission and a review of the implementation of the current program of work were performed. In the 5 working groups, the formulation of the next work program has been developed.
A particular importance is the realization of both sides of joint projects relating to business promotion and stimulation of the middle class and increase the competitiveness. The main areas were highlighted: such as strategic infrastructure, innovation, technology transfer, training, environment and water management, tourism, trade, corporate partnerships, experience in the field of public administration.
Connect the two regions, the Danube became the focus of the talks: the exchange on the common EU strategy for the Danube region was a central theme. The two sides are working to make the numerous ideas and pilot projects in the context of the Danube strategy and to develop new common project areas. Minister Peter Friedrich emphasized, for example, the technology transfer centers of the Steinbeis-model as well as the great potential in the field of vocational training.
The project director of the Steinbeis Danube center Rumjana Hilpert currently initiated projects with German and Bulgarian partners in vocational education and energy efficiency of buildings. The center will actively participate in the construction of settlements and emission-free technology transfer centers in Bulgaria. This gives the Baden-Württemberg, small and medium-sized companies an outstanding and long-term opportunity to establish itself on the Bulgarian market.
The co-chairs of the joint committee signed a protocol on the basis of the cooperation between Baden-Württemberg and Bulgaria for further development.
It was agreed by the two Co-Chairs that the next Commission meeting will be conducted in 2014 in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Rumjana Hilpert, 19 November 2012