January 26 (BTA) - "Despite challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic to international trade, Germany keeps its position as a major Bulgarian trading partner," German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Bulgarien) President Tim Kurth said on Tuesday at the 2021 German Economy Award ceremony.

Kurth cited statistics of Germany's Federal Statistical Office, according to which two-way trade was valued at 7.033 billion euro for the January-September 2021 period, with exports to Germany amounting to 4 billion euro and imports from Germany adding up to 3.032 billion euro.

The AHK Bulgarien President noted that investors' interest remains steady, with several large investments having been made so far despite the difficult times. He quoted preliminary figures released by the Bulgarian National Bank, which rank Germany as the home country with the second largest flow of foreign investments into this country for the January - October 2021 period, 290.4 million euro, second only after Luxembourg. "Germany thus keeps its position as a strategic investor in Bulgaria," said Kurth.

He pointed out that the number of award nominees was higher in 2022 than in any previous year.

Bulgarian Innovation and Growth Minister Daniel Lorer greeted the ceremony attendees and said that Germany is Bulgaria's largest trading partner and that the new Bulgarian Government earnestly wishes this partnership to endure.

Other guests at the event included the German Ambassador in Sofia Christoph Eichhorn, Tourism Minister Hristo Prodanov, and business executives.

Nineteen nominees that contributed to the promotion of German-Bulgarian business relations competed for the German Economy Awards in four categories: Large Enterprise, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Start-up. BTA was a media partner of the event. DS/NZ/LG