Външнотърговски отношения на България с държавите от Субсахарска Африка: тенденции и перспективи

The importance of African countries, especially Sub-Saharan ones, to Bulgaria is determined by the increasing role of the region in both global economy and policy, as well as its immense economic potential and natural resources. The paper discusses Bulgaria’s international trade relations with the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The first section summarizes the trends of EU trade with these countries. The second section analyses the dynamics, commodity structure and direction of Bulgarian trade with the region for the period 2003-2015. Bulgaria’s main trade partners are outlined based on this analysis and a more thorough commodity structure analysis of trade with them is presented. The last subsection discusses Bulgaria’s place among Central and Eastern Europe EU Member States. The final part of the paper summarizes the main conclusions and draws some recommendations on measures to foster the development of trade relations with the region.