Hanoi (VNA)༒ – Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dienhas proposed that Vietnam and Bulgaria enhance discussions to boost cooperationin agriculture, chemicals and pharmaceuticals while exploring joint developmentin foundational industries like materials, manufacturingand processing, and renewable energy.

Dien made the proposal while hosting a reception for BulgarianMinister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov on the sidelines of the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO)’s 13th Ministerial Conference in the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), reported the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade. Noting the positive impact of the EU-Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement(EVIPA), along with the concerted efforts of the two countries’ legislatures, governmentsand businesses, he expressed his belief that bilateral trade and investment willkeep growing robustly. To further boost trade and investment ties, Dienhighlighted the importance of maintaining the effective implementation of theInter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation mechanism,aimed at addressing obstacles and identifying new cooperation goals and areas. In his view, both sides should collaborate todevelop breakthrough sectors aligned with international trends such as greentechnology, renewable energy, digital economy and e-commerce. Bogdanov, for his part, wantsto advance cooperation with Vietnam across various sectors, particularly ineconomy, trade and investment, with the aim of lifting two-way trade and create favourableconditions for firms to invest in each other's market, especially inagriculture, pharmaceuticals, mining, energy, and others. He vowed to work closely with the Vietnamese Ministry ofIndustry and Trade and relevant domestic agencies to promote exchanges oncollaborative contents of mutual interest, and successfully hold the 24th session of the Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific andTechnical Cooperation in the capital city of Sofia, Bulgaria, later this year.

In 2023, two-way trade hit 211.4 million USD, up 3.7% year on year. While Vietnam's exports to Bulgaria saw a slight annualdecline of 0.4%, reaching 140.5 million USD, imports rose by 13% year-on-year,totaling 70.9 million USD./.