Interview with H.E. Mr Aleksander Manolev,

                       Deputy Minister of Economy, Republic of Bulgaria

H.E. Mr Aleksander Manolev, Deputy Minister of Economy in Bulgaria, spoke to India Empire’s Editor and Publisher Sayantan Chakravarty on the sidelines of the 4th India-Europe 29 Business Forum organized jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs and FICCI in March 2018

How, according to you, did the Bulgarian economy perform in 2017?

Well, our economy remained strong with the country being in the top five among Euro economies. We kept a high growth rate of our economy of around 4 per cent which is almost double the EU average. We are expecting 4 per cent in 2018 as well. We have also been seeing a positive growth rate of exports—a major driver of growth. In 2017 we achieved a record level of Bulgarian exports which has been growing at 12 per cent. Our unemployment is just below 7 per cent. Inflation is very low at around 2 per cent. Bulgaria’s budget deficit and public debt is very low. We are the second least indebted economies in Europe. Based on our economic performances the three leading credit rating agencies—Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch Ratings Inc.—have given a good credit rating and stable outlook for Bulgaria. They have been improving our credit rating for the past several years since our economy has been performing strongly over the past six to seven consecutive years.