Vietnam and Bulgaria have committed to boosting trade and investment cooperation with the aim of increasing annual bilateral trade turnover to $500 million in the near future.

This was highlighted as one of six key areas of cooperation agreed to during a meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and visiting Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Hanoi on November 25. President Radev expressed agreement with the proposals put forward by the Vietnamese Government leader.

He emphasized Vietnam’s potential as one of Bulgaria’s most promising markets in Southeast Asia, noting that nearly 30 leading Bulgarian companies in sectors such as information and communication technology, semiconductors, electronics, optics, machinery and specialized equipment, automobile manufacturing, medical devices, electrical equipment, shipbuilding, and defense and aerospace accompanied him on this visit. These companies are expected to attend a Vietnam-Bulgaria business forum in Ho Chi Minh City on November 27.

In response to Prime Minister’s Chinh’s proposals, President Radev affirmed his support for advocating the swift ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EUVIPA) by the remaining EU countries. He also pledged to support efforts aimed at the European Commission (EC) lifting its “yellow card” warning against Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU market.

Both sides agreed to continue effectively implementing the existing cooperation framework and signed agreements. They also pledged to strengthen collaboration in traditional areas such as defense and security, trade and investment, science and technology, education and training, medicine, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

They also committed to expanding cooperation in potential complementary fields such as digital transformation, digital data building and connectivity, AI, electronics, labor, agriculture, and food security.

Vietnam and Bulgaria also agreed to support each other in serving as gateways for their goods to enter the ASEAN and EU markets.