WTCA Europe Regional Conference was held in Sofia

In the three days between 15 and 17 June 2025, Sofia was the meeting point of leaders in industry, innovators and visionaries who gathered from the whole of Europe. More than 30 representatives of the World Trade Centers in Armenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and France participated in thematic seminars and presentations of world-famous lecturers who shared their views on the latest trends and future developments in the field of real estate and global trade.

The event was opened by Tsvetan Simeonov, President of BCCI, WTC Sofia AF,  who welcomed colleagues from 15 countries. The meeting was part of marking the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The meeting was also attended by the newest members of WTCA (the World Trade Centers Association), coming from Europe – the WTC Belgrade and WTC Sarajevo. The President of BCCI granted Licences to the two World Trade Centers on the first day of the European meeting.

The second day of the Conference included holding interactive workshops and panel discussions, intended to provide practical knowledge and innovative solutions to the challenges, faced by companies today. The focus was on the sectors of the automotive industry, energy and renewable sources, as well as artificial intelligence.

The management of World Trade Center Sofia acquainted the colleagues with its activities - renting out offices, commercial areas, parking lots and conference halls, as well as in organising business meetings and trade missions and providing services, intended for the business sector. In Sofia Tech Park, the participants in the meeting saw a Laboratory for producing prototypes of robots used in industry. They got acquainted with a supercomputer, called DISCOVERER, which is among the leaders in terms of its computing power.

The Meeting’s Programme also included a discussion of the opportunities in Europe for regional integration and economic development, presented by Dr Krassen Stanchev, an Economist, Founder and Chairman of the Institute for Market Economics and Member of the BCCI Board of Directors. He examined the current political uncertainty worldwide as a factor, affecting the economy of Europe and the region.

The role of the European World Trade Centers in regional integration and economic development was presented by Nicholas Beaty, Coordinator of the Rennes Bretagne World Trade Center, and Patricia Moinard from WTC Metz-Saarbrücken.

During the last day of the meeting of representatives of World Trade Centers from Europe, hosted by the BCCI, the discussion continued on recent and important topics for the participants. The possibilities for multifunctional use of buildings and real estate within the world trade centers were discussed during a thematic panel.

Ahmed Nasser, founder and director of the company Antika World presented the transformation of the Central Department Store in Sofia and discussed with the participants good practices in other countries and world trade centers for multifunctional use of business buildings.

At the end of the conference, the President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, World Trade Center Sofia - Associate, Tsvetan Simeonov thanked the participants for their active presence within the meeting and passed the baton to the next WTC, host of the European conference.

The next European regional meeting will be hosted by WTC Ballerup, Denmark. Henriette Berk Persson, CEO shared elements of the meeting program in 2026. in an innovative location focused on national and international trade exchange in the Copenhagen region.

The World Trade Center, which will host the meeting in 2027 – in the Armenian capital Yerevan – was also presented.