The first Sliven Future Forum, titled "Investment and the Future of Sliven Region", is being held today and tomorrow at the Imperia Fratelli hotel in Sliven, the regional administration's press office said. See our original report: Sliven to host first investment forum on Oct 10-11.
The official opening is at 09:30 today, with state representatives. Five people have been invited: deputy prime minister and minister of economy, investment and industry Alexander Pulev, and minister of innovation and digital transformation Ivan Vasilev. Also invited are deputy labour and social policy minister Nadya Klisurska, Sliven region MP Vesela Momcheva-Town and regional governor Mihail Kasherov.
An initiative committee organises the forum, which is an independent civic initiative. It aims to discuss ways to grow the region's economy. State and local bodies, businesses, investors, financial organisations, universities, entrepreneurs and experts are taking part. The partners are the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Association (BESCO), "The Recursive" and the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Bulgaria.
Today's talks cover attracting investment, the job market, education, innovation, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, transport, logistics and tourism. Organisers will present Sliven Connect, a platform on the region's people, skills and opportunities, and the Sliven Industrial Park. An investment tour is also planned to the industrial park, the Sliven mineral baths and Sliven airport.
On Sunday, a working session will look at a shared economic vision for the four municipalities: Sliven, Nova Zagora, Tvarditsa and Kotel. A closing session, "Sliven 2030 – 10 future steps", will follow and will set the next actions for the region's development.