Vienna Chamber of Commerce President Walter Ruck received Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova at the Vienna Business House. The program included, among other things, a mutual exchange about economic relations.
“The southeastern European Danube region, which also includes Bulgaria, is of enormous importance for Vienna’s companies. A quarter of Vienna’s export volume is generated here. As a representative of the interests of Viennese companies, we have therefore campaigned for Bulgaria to join the Schengen area. An important step for deepening European integration in the region,” says Ruck. Other topics discussed in the discussions included current challenges such as inflation, international conflicts and migration, which, according to Ruck, are “central questions for the EU’s competitiveness as a business location in a global context”.
The aim of the talks – for which Ruck thanks Vice President Iotova – was also to deepen economic relations. Bulgaria offers diverse export opportunities and is also an important nearshoring location. Austria is the second largest investor in Bulgaria after the Netherlands. The Bulgarian business community in Vienna is also very active. In Vienna, around 2,000 individual companies are run by people of Bulgarian origin, half of them by women. In addition, numerous highly qualified managers with a Bulgarian migration background work in Viennese companies. Many of them are women.
Networking meeting in the WK Vienna
Therefore, as part of the visit, a high-level meeting with Bulgarian female entrepreneurs and managers working in Vienna took place at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. This year the WK Vienna has set up a new network “Bulgaria – Vienna”. It connects Viennese entrepreneurs with a connection to Bulgaria as well as high-ranking representatives of Bulgarian companies and institutions. As part of this, the first joint projects have already been initiated.
The education sector was also an important part of the discussions. When it comes to university degrees, the proportion of women in Bulgaria is particularly high at 61 percent. The proportion of women graduating in the Mint subjects is also significantly higher than in Austria. “We must also succeed – especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers – in ensuring that more women are trained in these future-oriented subjects,” says Ruck.
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