The Bavarian Representative Office in Bulgaria

About us

Founded in 2003 and maintained by Germany’s Foreign Chamber of Commerce in Sofia, the state of Bavaria’s office in Bulgaria is headed by Dr. Mitko Vassilev, who is also the Chamber’s executive director.

Bulgaria in Bavaria

Trade between Bavaria and Bulgaria amounted to more than €583 million in 2010, making the country the state’s sixth most important partner in Southeastern Europe. Bulgaria’s business community in Bavaria is thriving. Represented by the state-based German-Bulgarian Association, the community is comprised of the some 12,700 Bulgarians (as of the end of 2010) living in Bavaria. Many of these, in turn, are students. As the following figures show, Bavaria is highly popular with Bulgarian students, of which 1,400 are enrolled in the state’s institutions of higher education (2010).

Bavaria in Bulgaria

The Bavarian business community in Bulgaria is estimated to have more than 900 members. In addition to a large number of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), their ranks include Allianz AG, Grammer, Knauf, MAN, Osram and Siemens.

Partnerships have been set up between Hersbruck (Bavaria) and the mountainside city of Rila, and between Weidenberg (Bavaria) and Gabrovo.