The most important priorities for the economic development of the municipality: -    Increasing the competitiveness of the companies in the field of industry and services; -    Development of the research activities, technological development and innovation in the municipality; -    Support of the approved companies; -    Support for the development of the business infrastructure; -    Formation of rapid economic growth zone; -    Formation of regional clusters and networks (at least three clusters – food industry, textile and garments industry and biotechnologies); -    Revival of the unused industrial zones; -    Formation of public-private partnership and initiatives for economic development; -    Improvement of the access and the development of the information and communication technologies in the field of public services and the services for SMEs; -    Increasing the quality of the labour force; -    Achievement of attractive and prosper tourism; -    Development of the cultural, business and sport tourism; -    Development and modernization of the local infrastructure; -    Improvement of life quality in the Plovdiv municipality; -    Insurance of public order and security. Circumstances stimulating the economic development of Plovdiv -    Well-developed international and domestic transport connections to the European road and railway systems, highway, airport. At the moment the transport connection with Greece is extended. -    Build up image of an industrial center with capacity to develop high tech industries; -    Highly qualified human resources in almost all sectors of the economy; -    Commercial, financial and services center of the region with opportunities for the development in the secondary and tertiary sectors; -    Unique cultural and historical center with potential for development of the tourism in the whole region; -    Concentration of educational institutions of all degrees and research institutes with potential for Know-How in the field of economy; -    Developed infrastructure for supply of energy and water, communication and transport network. The infrastructure is going to be extended according to the needs. Investment activity The last decade stagnation has been overcome and there is a positive increasing tendency of foreign investments in the recent years. Generally foreign investments are used as a signal indicator in terms of comparative and competitive advantages of a regional economy. In the last five years Plovdiv has attracted 371 million US dollars. There is a rise of investments in the production of other non-metal mineral raw materials, food industry and tobacco products, processing industry and tourism development. The biggest foreign investors are coming from Italy, Cyprus, Switzerland, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary. Plovdiv disposes of well-developed industrial areas, qualified workers and resources for an intensive growth. These are the things that make the municipality attractive.