AmCham-Organized Regional Forum Discusses Innovation

Digital infrastructure projects in Southeastern Europe will be possible to finance under EU programmes after 2020, Bulgaria's Transport, Information Technology and Communications Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said at the InnoStart Forum 2019, a regional innovation conference in Sofia, as quoted by his ministry on Thursday.

The event was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham Bulgaria) and the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Embassy of the United States and the Embassy of Israel in Sofia.

Under the motto "Shaping the Innovation Ecosystems," the InnoStart Forum gathered high-level government officials and international businesses from Israel, the US and the region to explore best practices for building a sustainable startup ecosystem and innovation community. Venture and corporate representatives, investors, entrepreneurs, select startups,
universities and governments shared thought-leadership to thrive on the global stage.

Speakers included Serbia's Minister without Portfolio responsible for Innovation and Technological Development, Nenad Popovic, North Macedonia's Information Society and
Administration Minister Damjan Mancevski, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Justin Friedman, Israeli Ambassador Irit Lillian, EU Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, and the World Economic Forum's Digital Europe Project Leader Julie Ziskind, among many others.

In the sidelines of the forum, Zhelyazkov had separate meetings with ministers Popovic and Mancevski. They reviewed the implementation of bilateral memoranda on reducing international
roaming charges. The ministers expressed their shared expectation that this process, which started during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018, will lead to considerably lower charges.

Source: BTA