Ample Room Remains For Vietnam-Bulgaria Cooperation

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and the delegation participated in the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee. Photo: congthuong.vn

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov co-chaired the 24th session of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee, which took place in the capital city of Sofia, Bulgaria on May 14.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said Vietnam-Bulgaria are two countries with long-standing traditional relations. Since the 1950s, Bulgaria has been one of the first 10 countries in the world to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Since then, the two countries have always supported each other.

Regarding Vietnam's economic and trade development in recent years, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam is currently one of the 40 countries with the largest economies in the world.

Vietnam's annual import-export turnover reached over US$700 billion.

In particular, in 2022, the growth rate has been spectacular at 8.03%. In the first four months of 2024, despite the general difficulties of the world economy, Vietnam's growth rate is still 6.6%.

Along with that, Vietnam is also one of 15 countries with the best environment to attract foreign investment (FDI) and Vietnam's annual FDI attraction growth rate is on average 5-6%/year.

Cumulative FDI capital into Vietnam up to now is US$469 billion, with over 141 countries and territories around the world having investment capital in Vietnam.

A large number of Bulgarian businesses participated in the discussion. Photo: congthuong.vn

In addition to traditional areas, both parties actively explore new ones of mutual interest, including industry, energy, agriculture, transportation, defense, science, education, information technology, communications, healthcare, culture, sports, training, and the supply of high-quality human resources. Notably, numerous novel cooperation initiatives aligned with international trends were revealed.

These initiatives aim to enhance national competitiveness, foster connectivity with the global supply chain, and embrace digital economy, digital transformation, and e-government initiatives. By expanding the scope of cooperation, both countries aim to bolster their respective economic scales while also contributing to the balance of trade between them.

Regarding investment opportunities in Vietnam, Vu Ba Phu, director general of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that currently Vietnam has been participating in 19 bilateral and multilateral FTAs ​​with most economies in the world.

Of these, 16/19 FTAs ​​have taken effect with more than 60 partners, covering all continents, with a total GDP accounting for nearly 90% of global GDP.

"This is also the basis and foundation for Vietnam to become one of the leading countries in the region in bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation frameworks," said Vu Ba Phu.

He said that this has made Vietnam the most important gateway in the world when investing in Vietnam now allows access to most of the world's major markets.

During the session, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien proposed that both sides align their cooperation efforts based on each other's potential advantages and respective expectations as follows:

Firstly, the Parties commit to identifying key areas of cooperation and drafting a memorandum of understanding to serve as a foundation for implementation in the near future.

Secondly, the two sides have agreed to hold regular consultations at both technical and ministerial leadership levels to formulate appropriate policy responses and foster development cooperation.

Thirdly, efforts will be made to facilitate and encourage businesses from both sides to engage in trade, explore investment opportunities, and establish collaborative ventures.

Fourthly, technical-level discussions will focus on finding solutions to balance bilateral trade and increase trade volume to align with the strong political and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Finally, preparations will commence for the upcoming visit of the President of Bulgaria to Vietnam, to advise leaders from both nations on crafting high-level agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation more closely and effectively.

At the event, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov jointly signed the minutes of the 24th session of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, testified by representatives from the ministries of both countries and Bulgaria's press agencies.

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