February 19 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria needs to tackle corruption in order to improve its investment climate, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham Bulgaria) and the German – Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GBITC) said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
Even though Bulgaria has excellent macroeconomic indicators, its fiscal policy has a positive impact on investments and Bulgarian-German economic relations are moving from one record to another, the country has not set a good example regarding the issues of rule of law and corruption, GBITC president Tim Kurth was quoted as saying in the statement issued after a joint meeting between the two organisations on Tuesday.
"We are convinced that with the efforts, knowledge and vision of the Bulgarian government, the commercial services of both partner countries – as well as the chambers of commerce – we will contribute to the further economic growth and prosperity of the Bulgarian people. These efforts happen further strengthening of rule of law, and the joint fight against corruption, which will support a positive investment climate, and lead to concrete improvements in priority sectors such as energy supply and independence, ITC, healthcare, labor and education," Olivier Marquette, president of the AmCham Bulgaria, added.
Tim Kurth is the CEOs of Aurubis Bulgaria, a unit of Hamburg-based copper producer Aurubis, while Olivier Marquette is on the position of President of AES Bulgaria, a subsidiary of U.S.-based energy company AES
Foreign direct investments, employment policy and labor market flexibility were amongst the other topics discussed during the meeting, the statement read.
Earlier this year the US State Department blacklisted judge Anton Mitalov, a Bulgarian national, and his immediate family due to his involvement in 'significant corruption'.