Bulgarian-Korean Business Forum In The Field Of Sustainable Energy Transformation

Bulgarian-Korean business forum in the field of energy was held on 20/07/2023 in Sofia. The event, organized by the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in our country, focused on the opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the field of sustainable energy transformation and energy security.

The large-scale conference in a hybrid format gathered in one place representatives of the involved institutions from Bulgaria and South Korea, of business, industry, and the academic sector, energy experts, etc., who took part in panel discussions and presentations on key topics for the development of the energy sector in the hall and online.

 Expert discussion on key topics

The forum, which was also broadcast live on the Facebook channel of the Atlantic Club, set out to explore the main challenges and possible solutions on the road to energy transformation. Key questions that the specialists emphasized were:

• The role of nuclear energy for the green transition;
• Measures to guarantee energy security and diversification;
• The development of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Bulgaria in the energy sphere.

The moderator of the event was the vice-president of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria Elena Poptodorova, and the nominee for the ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Sofia Jongin Bae, the president of the Atlantic Club Solomon Passi, the deputy minister of energy Krasimir Nenov, the minister of economy and industry Bogdan Bogdanov, the minister of environment and water Julian Popov and other officials took part in the program.

Broad thematic scope of the program

The main topic of the first panel within the forum was the role of atomic energy in sustainable development, and the chairman of the Energy Commission Delyan Dobrev, Milko Kovachev from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the chairman of the Bulgarian Atomic Forum (BULATOM) Bogomil Manchev and the chairman of the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum (BEMF) Ivan Hinovski took part in the discussion with presentations on the issue.

The second panel of today’s conference drew attention to the opportunities and challenges in relation to energy security and energy diversification in Bulgaria and the region. Choi Yongchul, head of the Global Energy Cooperation Center (GECC) and representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea shared valuable experience in this field from the practice of the Asian country.

On the Bulgarian side, the executive director of Bulgartransgaz Vladimir Malinov, the chairman of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) Ivan Ivanov, and Veneta Tsvetkova – director of “Energy Projects and International Cooperation” at the Ministry of Energy, took part in the discussion.

The highlight of the forum’s last discussion panel was the green transition and the expected changes in relation to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRSP). The deputy chairman of the Commission for Economic Policy and Innovation, Vladislav Panev, the Institute for Energy Management’s chief economist Kaloyan Staykov and the Institute for Economic Policy executive director Yasen Georgiev presented their points of view on the subject.

In conclusion, the organizers from the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria defined the event as a unique opportunity for a high-level expert discussion on one of the most current challenges related to energy development, namely those related to energy security. They expressed their gratitude for the valuable information shared by all the speakers who took part in the program, as well as the Embassy and the Government of the Republic of Korea for their cooperation in organizing and holding this large-scale bilateral forum and for their long-term partnership.