On 12-13th of March the 8th session of the Bulgarian-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission on economic,  scientific and technical cooperation took place in Yerevan. The session which was co-chaired by the Minister of transport, information technology and communications of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rossen Jeliazkov, and by the Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan, on the Armenian side.

The Bulgarian delegation included the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria in Armenia Mrs. Maria Pavlova Tzotzorkova, Deputy Minister of Economy Mr. Alexander Manolev, the Executive Director of  the Bulgarian Implementing Agency for  Small Promoting of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Mr. B. Takov, experts from the Bulgarian institutions and agencies.

The plenary session of the Commission, which took place on 13th of  March,  was opened by the two Ministers, who expressed their satisfaction with the discussions and the arrangements reached in the meetings and working formats, aimed at  the continuation and enhancement of cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as culture, education, science, information technologies and communications, defense, trade, economy, investment, etc. Three memoranda  were signed by the Executive Director of Bulgarian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Agency Mr. B. Takov and the heads of the three main employers' organizations in Armenia - the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia,  the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia and  the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center of Armenia. Minister Jeliazkov held fruitful and constructive meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan and Minister Hakob Arshakyan, and Deputy Minister Manolev met with  Minister of Economic Development and Investemnts of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Kachatryan and the President of the  Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia, Mr. Armen Ghazaryan.

Within the framework of the session in the hotel "Alexander" a business forum was held, attended by representatives of 30 Bulgarian and 70 Armenian companies and representatives of different business sectors. The aim of the forum was to familiarize the participants with the economic conditions and opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the two countries, to promote the  establishing  direct contacts among the Bulgarian enterprises and their potential partners from the Republic of Armenia by presenting up-to-date information on the investment climate, market and business conditions of each of the sides. The forum was opened by Minister Jeliazkov and Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia T. Kachatryan. Business representatives held bilateral meetings with their Armenian partners and discussed opportunities and interest in specific projects and future cooperation.

The forum attracted a great deal of interest in the Armenian business circles and some of the people registered to participate remained outside   the largest conference hall of hotel “Alexander”.

On 13th of March in the evening, Ambassador Pavlova gave a reception in honor of the Bulgarian delegation and representatives of business sectors in the premises of the Bulgarian Embassy in Yerevan.