The delegations of the Programme’s Managing Authority and the National Authority also participated in the fourth Regional Matchmaking Forum, organized by the SME Promotion Agency, which aims to bring together numerous SMEs from Bulgaria and neighboring countries each year to establish various partnerships. The event, organized in cooperation with the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce, expanded further this year. SMEs from Romania also participated, in collaboration with the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce. The forum served as a key platform for SMEs eligible under the 2021–2027 Interreg IPA Bulgaria–Turkey Program to form project partnerships, and a presentation was held to raise awareness of cross-border cooperation. The event also addressed the development of trade relations among the three countries and explored new investment opportunities.
The forum’s opening session was moderated by Boyko Takov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency. Speakers included Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas; Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Türkiye to Bulgaria; Fikret İnce, Chairman of the Türkiye-Bulgaria Bussiness Council and Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce, and Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce President Burhan Nemutlu; as well as Victor Gugushev, Chairman of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce.
During the “Growth Tools” panel, the opportunities offered by cross-border cooperation mechanisms for regional development were discussed. The panel, moderated by Eleonora Ivanova, Founder of Fininfo.bg and Executive Director of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, featured insights from Desislava Tencheva, State Expert at the Interreg-IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programs Department of the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development; Övünç Güneş, Head of the Cross-Border Cooperation Department of the EU Presidency’s National Authority; Konstantin Kunev, Interim Executive Director of Future Unicorns Accelerator; and Smilen Valov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian National Employment Agency.