Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev met Türkiye’s Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, in Istanbul on November 21, 2025 to discuss new opportunities for cooperation in innovation, technology, artificial intelligence, and science, including measures to boost mutual investment, research, digitalisation, and innovative projects. Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Krasimir Yakimov also attended the bilateral meeting.
Later in the day, Donchev took part in a roundtable on bilateral economic relations organised by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEİK). In talks with DEİK Chair Nail Olpak, they discussed attracting high-tech investment and strengthening bilateral trade. Donchev said the sector’s visibility is key to encouraging young people to pursue engineering careers and to ensuring they are well informed about the opportunities industry offers.
During his one-day visit, Donchev also visited Smart Holding, the owner of Smart Solar Technologies. The company is regarded as one of Bulgaria’s key investors, with a priority investment project certified under the Investment Promotion Act. The project, planned for the village of Elenino in the Stara Zagora Municipality, calls for the construction of a new manufacturing facility for solar panels and photovoltaic cells and is expected to create more than 800 jobs in the region. The company’s management presented the project and outlined its future investment plans.
Donchev also reviewed initiatives at Teknopark Istanbul, where potential partnerships with Sofia Tech Park were discussed. He noted that the Discoverer+ supercomputer at Sofia Tech Park was upgraded this year and highlighted the development of the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) and the planned BRAIN++ AI factory in Sofia, expected to be one of six such facilities in the European Union.
Separately, Deputy Minister Yakimov presented Bulgaria’s technological progress at a business forum organised by the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BULTİŞAD) and the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM). He outlined recent measures to improve Bulgaria’s business environment and pointed to high-tech sectors, biotechnology, fintech, the green economy, and the automotive industry as areas of mutual interest. Yakimov also presented the Bulgarian Investment Agency’s newest digital platform for investors, developments in industrial zones, and legislative changes aimed at improving the investment process.
