The goal is that by 2020 Bulgaria makes a substantial improvement in its innovation presentation on the EU level to tackle challenges in demography, sustainable development, intellectual capital and the nation’s health, emphasised Peter Kunev, Head of the Bulgarian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), Peter Kunev, at the 49th Meeting of PABSEC Economic Committee in Tirana, Albania. The title of the event is “Developing PABSEC member states national systems for innovations”.

As a EU member state, Bulgaria is facing serious economic challenges which call for the implementation of an ambitious economic policy, said Peter Kunev to the meeting participants. He mentioned that Bulgaria claimed its vision for political change and addressing the existing socio-economic challenges through the Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation. It aims to tackle challenges in demography: to reduce the number of highly qualified young people who are leaving the country, to attract successful Bulgarians and encourage youth entrepreneurship, as well as to ensure sustainable development, intellectual capital development and improve the nation’s health.

Four thematic areas have been identified with concrete product and technology niches, services and productions, which Bulgaria should develop, said Peter Kunev. These are information and communication technologies, mechatronics and pure technologies, healthy industries and biotechnologies, as well as new technologies in creative and re-creative industries, he explained.

At the beginning of his speech Petar Kunev, Head of the Bulgarian Delegation to PABSEC, thanked the Albanian MPs for passing the law on minorities, which regulates the status of Albanian citizens of Bulgarian descent, and recognizing them as a minority.

PABSEC has 12 member states: Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, and Ukraine.