UNWE Was Part of the German Economy Awards in Bulgaria

On 25 January 2024 a solemn ceremony on awarding the 20th-anniversary prizes of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce /GBCIC/ in Bulgaria, which honour companies that have made a significant contribution to the development of Bulgarian-German economic relations was held at the Grand Hotel Millennium. The companies awarded for their activities in 2023 were Schwarz Global Services Bulgaria in Large Enterprise category, Logisoft in Small and Medium Enterprise category and Kaufland Bulgaria in Social Commitment category. Kaufland Bulgaria is awarded for the company's corporate social responsibility in the areas of environment, society, and education implemented over the past year through numerous initiatives, including joint initiaves with the UNWE.

The Rector of our University Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov participated in the awarding of the Honorary Prize of the German Economy which was conferred on Dr. Mitko Vassilev, General Manager of GBCIC, for his great merits and overall contribution to the development of the bilateral trade and economic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Germany over the past decades. Dr. Vassilev resigns after 30 years of successful service to the Chamber for which he has received many greetings. In his welcoming speech Prof. Dimitrov outlined the cooperation between the GBCIC and our University, as well as the excellent partnership of UNWE with some of the company members of the Chamber. At the end of his speech, Prof. Dimitrov invited Dr. Vassilev to be a lecturer at our University.

The Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov is awarding the prize to the General Manager of GBCIC Dr. Mitko Vassilev

Dr. Mitko Vassilev

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Monika Moraliyska, Deputy Head of the International Economic Relations and Business Department and Coordinator of the agreement between the UNWE and the GBCIC was a member of the jury determining the winners. She said that the choice was extremely difficult due to the strong competitiveness of many successful and innovative companies in the competition. The jury was composed of Mrs. Denitsa Dimitrova, manager of the Manager magazine, Mr. Dobry Mitrev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, Mrs. Zlatomira Stefanova, Deputy Mayor for Economics and International Cooperation of Ruse Municipality, Mr. Konstantin Palaveev, Executive Director of the National Company Industrial Zones, Dr. Mariana Cholakova, representative of GBCIC for South Central Region and Honorary Consul of Germany in Bulgaria based in Plovdiv, Mr. Martin Gikov, Deputy Minister at Ministry of Innovation and Growth, Mrs. Mila Nenova, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Investment Agency, Dr. Mitko Vassilev, General Manager of GBCIC, Mr. Stanimir Nikolov, Manager of StoreIT, Prof. Dr. Eng. Stefan Stefanov, Technical University - Sofia and Mr. Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the ceremony the guests were welcomed by Tim Kurth, President of GBCIC, Martin Wansleben, General Manager of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry /DIHK/ in Berlin, H. E. Irene Maria Planck, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sofia, Milena Stoycheva, Minister of Innovation and Growth, and Mr. Nikolay Pavlov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry and Peter Ruben, CEO of UBB and KBC Bank, Country Manager of KBC Group in Bulgaria. Official guests were Deputy Ministers, representatives of the German Ministry of Economy and Energy, representatives of German companies in Bulgaria as well as the media partners of the event - Capital newspaper, Bulgarian News Agency /BNA/, Economy.bg, Money.bg, Leader.bg and Manager magazine.

Tim Kurth, GBCIC President