Sofia, November 25 (BTA) - The Joint Monitoring Committee of the Bulgaria-Serbia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 held its ninth meeting on Thursday.

Joint projects between Bulgaria and Serbia under the new Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2021-2027 will absorb 38.1 million leva investments, Bulgarian Deputy Regional Development and Public Works Minister Nina Stoimenova, who heads the Programme's Managing Authority, told the meeting that she chaired, quoted by her Ministry in a press release.

The Programme allocates financial resources to small and medium-sized enterprises for technological modernization, optimization of production, digitalization, staff trainings and entry into new markets. Considerable funding will be provided for the implementation of measures to deal with natural disasters in the cross-border region, including the preparation of an action plan and trainings and drills for the competent services, volunteers and members of the public, Stoimenova said.

At the same meeting, the Deputy Minister presented the results achieved by the
cross-border cooperation programme during the previous period: 105 projects at the cost of 37.4 million euro, of which 79 were successfully completed. As much as 23.7 million leva or 70 per cent of the total allocation have been paid to beneficiaries so far. DS/YV/LG