Bulgaria Should Aim for 10% Economic Growth - Draft Strategy

26.08.2008

By Alex Bivol
15 June 2007, Friday

Bulgaria should aim for an average 10% annual economic growth until 2020, according to a draft strategy drawn up by a team of experts at the request of Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

Bulgaria could reach the target by massed investment in agriculture, including from EU accession aid funds, tourism and the energy sector, where Bulgaria should aim for boosting efficiency and encouraging the building of new oil and gas pipelines through the country.

Separately, the strategy recommends upgrading the transport infrastructure, as well as investing into research and development, as background requirements for sustained growth.

The key pre-requisites for attaining stable and high growth is political support, macroeconomic and demographic stability, as well as favourable external conditions within the EU, the report's authors said.

Bulgaria has averaged over 5,5% gross domestic product growth in the past decade, since the economic crisis in 1996, which resulted in Bulgarians taking to the streets and provided the impetus for drastic reforms.

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