Now was an opportune time to improve US-Bulgarian business relations, Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said on February 23.

On the same day as the signing in Washington, DC, of the US-Bulgarian avoidance of double taxation treaty, Kalfin spoke in Sofia at a business lunch held by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), together with the Bulgarian-US Trade Economic Council (BATEC).

Kalfin said that political relations between Bulgaria and the US were in their best state ever. He cited Bulgaria’s active co-operation with US military missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, and said Bulgaria wanted to further such military co-operation. As one issue, Kalfin pointed out the economic element of the bi-lateral relations.

He underlined the importance of double tax treaty to the future economic partnership between Sofia and Washington.

Speakers from AmCham and BATEC expressed their satisfaction with the meeting and called it “the first of such kind, but certainly not the last”. The two organisations said that they were not competing, but on the contrary had a common goal to better economic relations between Bulgaria and the US, saying that they would actively co-operate in achieving this.