“India and the Europe 29 group of Central, Northern and East European countries hold growth potential in areas such as artificial intelligence, new age technologies, new manufacturing technologies and can be the beacons of growth in a slowing world,” Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.

“The two regions have a lot of complementarities in areas such as smart cities, clean and renewable energy, start ups, IT and ITES and can develop a strong economic relationship with each other,” Goyal said at the India-Europe 29 Business Forum organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and industry body CII on Wednesday.

The Europe 29 region comprises Albania, Liechtenstein, Austria, Lithuania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Malta, Croatia, Moldova, Cyprus, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Finland, Serbia, Greece, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Icelland, Sweden, Latvia, Switzerland and Turkey.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Demographic Policy Mariyana Nikolova pointed out that her country had one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe at 10 per cent and a predictable and stable policy framework.

“I invite Indian industry to come and invest in my country. The two countries can work together in a number of areas including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery and agri and food processing sectors,” she said while giving a presentation on the opportunities in Bulgaria at the Forum.

Nikolova highlighted Bulgaria’s strengths in both hardware and software and felt that Indian companies could be an ideal partner.

Slovak Republic’s First Deputy Minister of Economy Vojtecj Ferencz said that companies like TCS and Jaguar Land Rover had invested in the country but there was much more scope to step up Indian investment. “Sectors for investments include automobiles and auto components, electronics, and electrical equip.

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