Bulgaria is situated in the South-Eastern part of Europe. Bulgaria ranks fifteenth in size among the European countries. The country’s population is 8.291 million and the country’s territory amounts to 110,910 sq.km.

Bulgaria is located in the centre of a region that is undergoing dynamic transitions. Although most of the neighboring countries recently embarked on their way to a market economy, they already experienced stable economic growth which makes the Balkan region an attractive place for investment.

A network of international motorways crosses the country, making vital connections to Western Europe, Russia, Minor Asia, to the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Both sea and river transport (the Black Sea and the Danube River) offer good communications to and from the region.

The territory of the republic of Bulgaria is divided into 278 municipalities and 28 regions. Municipalities are legal entities and have the right of ownership and independent municipal budgets. The municipal council is the local governing authority that determines the policy for development of the municipality. The regions are administrative-territorial units that implement the regional policy of the central government.

2. STARA ZAGORA - Location

The Stara Zagora Region is located in the central part of Southern Bulgaria with an area of 5725 sq.km and population of about 400,000 persons. The City of Stara Zagora in the heart of the Region with population of 200,000 persons is the sixth biggest city in Bulgaria. The climate is intermediate continental with an annual average temperature of 13 C°(54.4 F).

A major advantage of Stara Zagora in terms of trade is its location with transportation routes providing easy access to Sofia in the west (230 km); Bourgas’ Black Sea port in the east (180 km); Rousse’s Danube port at the Romanian Border in the north (235 km); and the Greek port Alexandropoulos, in the south (230 km).

Due to its central location, the city of Stara Zagora lies on the main road linking the cities of Sofia and Bourgas, which makes the access to the main mountain and seaside ports quick and easy. The international highway linking Europe and the middle East (the Belgrade-Istanbul highway) also runs through Stara Zagora. The city has its own Customs house, Express services (DHL, TNT, UpS) and airport.

Stara Zagora serves as the central hub of an efficient train system connecting the Region with all Bulgarian cities as well as cities in Eastern and Western Europe.

The International Automatic Telephone Network provides the Region with a quality communication system. Stara Zagora is one of the two fundamental points in Bulgaria’s optic highway providing a communication system to meet the standards of international business.