site.btaBulgaria, Vietnam to Boost Trade, Launch Joint Projects

Bulgaria, Vietnam to Boost Trade, Launch Joint Projects

Hanoi/Sofia, October 17 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Economy Ministry said Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski has agreed with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh to boost bilateral trade.

The two ministers discussed at a meeting in Hanoi on Monday measures to intensify bilateral economic relations and to indentify new areas for cooperation. Loukarski, who presented the business climate in Bulgaria and its trade potential, said the country could serve as a gateway for the export of Vietnamese goods to the EU. Loukarski said medicaments, insecticides and herbicides, wheat and sunflower seed are the top Bulgarian exports to Vietnam. In his view, Bulgaria is interested and has the potential to increase trade with pharmaceutical, chemical, industrial, machine-building and electro-technical products and with information and communication technology products and services.

The prospects for the production and processing of Vietnamese goods destined for export to the EU were also discussed as well as setting up joint venture firms. The Ministers affirmed the common goal of reaching a trade exchange of over 100 million US dollars.

The Executive Director of the National Industrial Zones Company, Stefan Staikov, part of a business delegation that accompanies Loukarski, said that his firm provides opportunities for investment in manufacturing and logistic operations in six regions in Bulgaria.

The Executive Director of the Varna sea port, Petar Stefanov, presented the harbor's capabilities for the handling and temporary storage of cargo and for logistic services.

On behalf of the Bulgarian Agriculture Ministry, ministerial advisor Iliyan Kostov suggested cooperation in stock breeding, including the export of chicken and duck meat and silkworm farming.

It was noted that Bulgarian dairy products could be produced in Vietnam since the Balkan country already has experience in this respect in Japan and China.

Kostov said that procedures have been launched to certify the exchange of agricultural products between Bulgaria and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Minister suggested to boost the import to Bulgaria of Vietnamese rice, coffee, fruit, cashew and canned goods.

In the energy sector, the Vietnamese side is interested in cooperation in renewables, recycling of industrial waste, oil refining, energy transmission, hydro power, low-carbon power and in the exchange of expertise in infrastructure construction, personnel training, legislation and regulation.

The two ministers agreed that a working group of experts should be set up to coordinate the progress in identifying potential areas for cooperation and to assist firms from the two countries in realising concrete projects and in establishing contacts with each other.

The meeting ended with the signing of a memorandum for cooperation between the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and the Vietnamese Development Bank. The two lenders will cooperate in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, the development of the agriculture sector and the exchange of goods. In the wider region, BDB has already signed cooperation pacts with financial institutions in Japan, China, Korea, and Mongolia.

The two ministers opened a business forum in Hanoi attended by representatives of Bulgarian and Vietnamese companies. Minister Tran Tuan Anh said at the forum that Vietnam offers many new investment opportunities and assured that the market economy in Vietnam is developing, manufacturing technology is being upgraded and the country's GDP and exports are rising by around 7 per cent, which creates a good trade and business environment.

In 2015, Bulgaria and Vietnam exchanged goods worth a total of 93 million US dollars with Bulgarian exports totaling 43 million US dollars. Bilateral trade reached 61 million US dollars in the first half of 2016 with Bulgarian exports to Vietnam totaling 35 million US dollars.