site.btaBulgarian-Vietnamese Business Forum Held in Sofia

Sofia, October 7 (BTA) - Twenty Vietnamese companies and more than 30 Bulgarian ones took part in a Bulgarian-Vietnamese Business Forum held Monday in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

Speaking at the event, BCCI Chief Secretary Vassil Todorov singled out the food-making industry, farming, machine building, human resources recruitment, renewable energy, banking and financing, and tourism as the main areas of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Todorov said that talks are underway about possible import in Bulgaria of skilled work force from Vietnam, noting that Bulgarian businesses have stated needs and interest in such type of cooperation.

The sides noted that a good basis for future cooperation will be the trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam which is in the process of ratification.

Citing official statistics, Todorov said that Bulgaria's key exports to Vietnam in recent years are wheat, rye, medicines, including antibiotics, wines, lifting equipment. From Vietnam Bulgaria mainly imports coffee, shoes, clothes, rubber articles, fish fillet, coal.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Sofia Doan Tuan Linh presented latest economic data about Vietnam: GDP growth of 6.98 per cent in January-September 2019, the highest in the past nine years, and an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent, the lowest in the past three years.

Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy from the Vietnamese Trade Promotion Agency invited the Bulgarian business people and investors to study and take advantage of the business opportunities in her country. In her words, there are not enough Vietnamese goods in Bulgarian supermarkets.

An invitation was extended to the Bulgarian business to take part in a trade fair of the food industry in November in Ho Chi Minh.

At the forum BCCI and the Vietnamese Trade Promotion Agency signed a cooperation agreement. DS/ZH//