Innovations are invariably the focus of the presidential institution. That’s what he said President Rumen Radev during a national conference on the topic: “Innovations – opportunities for Bulgaria”.
This is the first time we are organizing a forum of such scope, he pointed out. It is innovation policy that should be an emphasis in the policy of every government, the head of state emphasized. They become a guarantor of progress and quality of life, said Rumen Radev. The attitude towards innovation is an indicator of national ambitions for the future, according to the head of state. There is no way we can peel off from the bottom of Europe without developing innovationii, in his opinion. The stake here is much higher, the president believes.
We are in the penultimate place in Europe for innovation last year, it became clear from his words. We cannot meet our 1.5% R&D target. However, we also have successes, Radev said and pointed out that a number of Bulgarian companies are implementing new technologies in their operations.
There was a 17% growth in scientific publications last year. We have potential, the president believes. He is optimistic about the talent of young people in the field of natural sciences and informatics.
The head of state declared for the development of this potential and criticized the fragmented innovation policy. A new R&D ecosystem model, he wants. Radev wants new regulations to unleash our innovation potential. The President criticized that the Ministry of Economy abdicated from the F-16 contract in the field of industrial cooperation.
The European Commissioner for Innovation, Maria Gabriel, gave her support for the sustainable development of innovation. Today’s discussion is timely and necessary, according to her. The EC has a program for the development of innovations, which will support startups.
174 million BGN for next year are investments in startups in our country. It is important to emphasize this new wave of innovation, Gabriel urged. The EC plans to create 100 regional innovation valleys. The ambition of Brussels is 1 million talents to be supported. There is a strong pool of talent, the European Commissioner pointed out.
The Minister of War Dragomir Zakov emphasized the innovations in the modernization of the army and insisted on the participation of the state in this activity. according to him ZOP is not up-to-date with the pace of development of innovations. According to him, innovations are the basis for compensating for the backwardness of our country.
The Ministry of Defense just couldn’t handle it. Bulgaria from a consumer of security and innovation, according to the Minister of Defense, can become a generator of security and innovation. He saw a broken link between defense needs and innovation and insisted that it be restored.
The Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov, in turn, sees the export of innovators from our country. According to him, if we do not develop, we will become much more dependent, than we are now. In the energy sector, there is a broken bridge between science and innovation, business and personnel, he said. Bulgaria has investment advantages over the EU, but at the same time foreign direct investment (FDI) is developing more slowly.
It’s a problem non-compliance with the law, in the opinion of the Minister of Energy. We are not a small market, he is convinced. Transparency in a number of spheres has slowly started to return, according to him.
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