The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a business meeting between Bulgaria and Vietnam which was organised in the framework of the 24th session of the Bulgarian-Vietnamese Joint Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, and was held this week in Sofia.
The event was attended by Nikolay Pavlov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of the Republic of Bulgaria, and Nguyen Hong Zien, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Mr Pavlov pointed out the fact that the Commission gathered and met for the first time after a break of nearly 10 years and was a reason for discussing the opportunities for cooperation in different areas of mutual interest. Bulgaria already ratified the Investment Protection Agreement between the EU and Vietnam at the end of 2023. It was established that Vietnam is a traditional and important partner of Bulgaria in the Asia-Pacific region. The past years have seen a growing exchange of goods but there is yet untapped potential. "Our attention has to be drawn to utilising the opportunities in the areas with high added value. Our country has a growing interest in boosting the investments from Vietnam," Pavlov said.
In his speech, Minister Zien pointed out that there is enormous potential for cooperation in terms of economics. The goods exchange grew by 95% in the 2019-2022 period. Investment in Vietnam also rose to USD 9 billion. The country maintains open market economic relations with all countries in the region There are 16 active free trade agreements. Vietnam is a supplier of many raw materials and at the same time – a source of technology. The country provides access to a huge regional market, far exceeding the country's population of 105 million.
Gabriela Dimitrova, Director of International Cooperation and International Organisations at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasised that the Chamber is part of the long-lasting cooperation between Bulgaria and Vietnam with strong and reliable partners such as the Embassy of Vietnam in Sofia, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She presented the Bulgarian companies which took part in the meeting and are representatives of the following sectors: agriculture, food and drink industry, aviation, transport and logistics, information technologies, metallurgy and metalworking, infrastructure, coffee trade, tourism, the medical sector, energy, etc.
Yuliyan Balchev, Chief Secretary of the Bulgarian Investment Agency, presented the economic and investment environment in the country.
The participants also got acquainted with the opportunities for doing business in Vietnam, presented by experts from different ministries and institutions, comprising the areas of trade, industry, the pharmaceutical sector, chemical industry, mechanics and engineering, etc.