Minister Nikolov discussed the deepening of economic relations with the Minister of Industry and Trade of SR Vietnam

Common potential partnerships in production and opportunities for cooperation in trade, industry and investment were discussed by the Minister of Economy and Industry Dr. Petko Nikolov and the Minister of Industry and Trade of the SR Vietnam Nguyen Hong Zien. The two held a meeting within the framework of the visit of the Vietnamese delegation, which is visiting Bulgaria for the 24th session of the Intergovernmental Bulgarian-Vietnamese Commission for Trade, Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation. Our country is hosting the session, which is being held for the first time, after nearly 10 years since its previous meeting.

The ministers outlined the opportunities for cooperation in the fields of industry, high-tech agriculture, medicine, energy, pharmaceuticals, innovation, tourism and others. They united around the great potential for the development of bilateral economic relations and the opportunities to promote partnerships between Bulgarian and Vietnamese companies. The meeting highlighted the positive development of economic relations in recent years. Bilateral trade is growing, especially after the entry into force of the EU-Vietnam free trade and investment protection agreements.

"Vietnam is a traditional and important partner of Bulgaria in the Asia-Pacific region. In recent years, trade has grown, but there is still untapped potential. Our attention must be directed to exploiting the opportunities in areas of high added value. Our country has a strong interest in increasing investments from Vietnam," Minister Nikolov pointed out during the meeting.

According to him, the good business climate in our country and the key geographical location of our country, as an entry point to Europe, are a serious prerequisite for attracting more Vietnamese investments and for creating joint Bulgarian-Vietnamese enterprises for the production of goods to be exported to third parties.

At the meeting, it became clear that there are real opportunities for diversifying trade and increasing the share of Bulgarian exports to Vietnam in priority areas such as chemical industry, mechanical engineering, pharmaceutical industry, light industry, agricultural products and equipment, and joint productions.

Dr. Nikolov pointed out that, as an EU member state, Bulgaria is ready to support Vietnam in its relations with the EU, an example of which is the timely ratification of the Investment Protection Agreement between the EU and Vietnam by the National Assembly. Thus, Bulgaria ranked among the seventeen EU member states that ratified the Agreement. With its entry into force, mutual investments would undoubtedly increase, which is of common interest.

For his part, the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade pointed out that Bulgaria is a friendly country and the holding of the Intergovernmental Bulgarian-Vietnamese Commission will give an additional stimulus to economic relations. He emphasized that bilateral trade has reached over 200 million USD. for 2023 and there are many opportunities for investments in our country by Vietnamese companies in various sectors, after the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement by the National Assembly.

The Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Vietnam extended an invitation to visit Dr. Petko Nikolov, in order to familiarize himself on the spot with the possibilities of deepening the commercial and economic partnership between the two countries.

The two ministers of economy noted that Bulgaria and Vietnam share a long history of partnership and cooperation, and next year will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The meeting at the Ministry was also attended by the Deputy Ministers of Economy and Industry, Dr. David Sukalinski and Nikolay Pavlov.