The Bulgarian government has predicted that the level of foreign investment in the country will remain unchanged next year.

Yavor Kuyumdzhiev, the nation's economy and energy minister, said there are various conflicting forecasts regarding the outlook for foreign investment in Bulgaria.

However, he told the Focus news agency that the overall level is not likely to alter significantly over the next 12 months.

Mr Kuyumdzhiev attributed this partly to the country's favourable business environment, as well as various other strong fundamentals of the market.

He commented: "There is real economy in Bulgaria.

"The connection among goods, capital and production means is not broken."

Mr Kuyumdzhiev added that the government is also working to reduce the amount of red tape in the export sector.

This follows an assurance from the Bulgarian National Bank that the country is unlikely to slip into recession next year.