On 3 December, members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria met in an exclusive setting with His Excellency Gavin Buchan, Ambassador of Canada to Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, Senior Trade Commissioner John Ormond, and the Embassy’s political officer responsible for Bulgaria Martin Dimitrov, Rosen Osikovski and Tsvetan Raykov from KMC Ltd. The meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on the year’s key developments, discuss the evolving priorities of Canada’s engagement in Europe, and outline the major challenges ahead.
Ambassador Buchan highlighted Canada’s focus on further strengthening its partnership with Europe, noting that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) ratification remains a key priority in the context of Canada-Bulgaria cooperation. CanCham President Alex Nestor assured the Ambassador that CanCham will continue providing its full support in this direction. Ambassador Buchan encouraged members of CanCham to also raise awareness within their respective ecosystems on the benefits of CETA for the Bulgarian economy and for job creation. “You can do things we cannot – you are the people who build bridges between Canada and Bulgaria,” he noted.
The discussion also underscored the expanding role of Canadian chambers across Europe, with Executive Director Desislava Vezenkova sharing insights from the recent CanChams of Europe meetings in Brussels, where she and President Alex Nestor represented CanCham Bulgaria. The gathering in Brussels highlighted Canada’s renewed focus on trusted European partnerships and the strong potential for deeper collaboration, reinforced by the shared commitment of CanChams and Trade Commissioners to connect Canadian and European businesses.
A further highlight of the discussion was the growing presence of Canadian companies in Bulgaria, exemplified by the participation of Laurentis Energy Partners and BWXT. Their participation in this meeting came just one day after the signing of a major contract between the Canadian-led consortium and Kozloduy NPP – New Build EAD. This agreement represents a significant step forward in Canada’s engagement in the Bulgarian energy sector, bringing internationally recognized excellence, expertise, and quality to the development of Bulgaria’s new nuclear capacity.
Looking ahead, the main areas of cooperation between Canada and Bulgaria are expected to include, among others, energy and natural resources, technology and innovation/digital industries, and defense.
The meeting was made possible with the kind support of Postbank and the generous hospitality of KMC EAD.
