"Bulgaria and Germany maintain excellent political dialogue and relations of mutual trust, which are a stable basis for the development of economic cooperation between the two countries". This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Pulev. He and Prime Minister Rumen Radev held a meeting with representatives of the management of “Rheinmetall“ today.
According to him, Germany is a strategic foreign trade partner and a leading investor in Bulgaria. “Our main priority is to consolidate Bulgaria's place in the process of reindustrialization of Europe and to develop an economy with high added value. Investments from Germany have made a significant contribution to achieving this goal, Pulev pointed out.
He also commented on the development of negotiations with the German defense concern “Rheinmetall“. According to him, the dialogue with the company, which is among the world leaders in the defense industry, was established at the initiative of the then president Rumen Radev. Subsequently, work on the project was transferred to the “Borisov“ cabinet, but the findings made by the current government about its condition are not positive.
“The Bulgarian government is ready to overcome the accumulated structural deficits. This is a necessary process for this key project to be implemented,“ said the Deputy Prime Minister.
According to him, a number of problems have been identified in the overall mechanism for implementing the investment. At the moment, there is no established legal structure, no founding agreement and no joint venture between VMZ and “Rheinmetall“ has been established. Pulev also pointed out that the financing of the project was not provided for in the state budget despite the commitments made by the previous government. According to him, there are no detailed estimates and financial justification.
“Our predecessors not only did not provide financing, but they provided for direct negotiations with construction companies without conducting public procurement“, he said.
Problems have also been identified with the selected terrain for the implementation of the project. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the site is not suitable for the planned industrial activity, as it does not have the necessary water supply. “For such production, an industrial site with water is needed. It turns out that there is no water on the provided terrain, but there is a forest. "It is a matter of land from the forest fund," Pulev explained.
Despite the identified shortcomings, the government has a strong political will to continue work on the project and talks with the German company. "We will work in the interest of Bulgarian citizens and continue the dialogue with “Rheinmetall“ so that we achieve our common goals - modernization of the Bulgarian Army, development of local industry and transfer of technologies," emphasized Alexander Pulev.
The Executive Director of the Energy Materials Unit at “Rheinmetall“ Pascal Schreyer pointed out: “Our goal is to support Bulgarian industry, to assist in the development of technologies and to assist in the modernization of the Bulgarian Army with modern equipment“.