Bulgaria must become the best place in Europe for starting and developing a business with high added value by 2030. This was stated by the Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation Ivan Vassilev during the seventh edition of the Sofia Economic Forum.
“Our goal is for Bulgaria to be the best place in Europe for starting and developing a business with high added value by 2030,“ Vassilev pointed out. According to him, the country has talented engineers and strong research teams, but the business environment needs to be improved so that innovative companies can develop new products, grow and enter international markets.
Artificial intelligence is among the main priorities
The minister said that companies in Bulgaria are increasingly actively using artificial intelligence, and the state must also accelerate its development in this direction. Among the examples he cited are the Institute for Artificial Intelligence INSAIT and the Bulgarian language model BgGPT.
Vassilev also recalled the construction of the BRAIN++ artificial intelligence factory in the “Sofia Tech Park“. “Talent is our strongest asset“, the minister emphasized.
Among the priorities of the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation is the creation of regulatory “sandboxes“ for artificial intelligence and robotics. In them, innovators will be able to test technological solutions and identify possible risks at an early stage.
Council will connect the state and the technology sector
During the forum, it also became clear that a Council for Innovation and Technological Development has been created. It should be a link between the state, technology companies, startups, investors and researchers.
Vassilev also emphasized the digitalization of public services. “Documents should be processed quickly and no one should submit the same document twice“, the minister said.