site.btaBulgaria and Russia Discuss Ways to Boost Bilateral Trade and Economic Relations

Bulgaria and Russia Discuss Ways to Boost Bilateral Trade and Economic Relations

Sofia, September 17 (BTA) - Bulgaria and Russia have discussed ways to boost their bilateral trade and economic relations, the Economy Ministry in Sofia reported on September 16, covering a meeting between the co-chairs of the Bulgaria-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The meeting was held in the Bulgarian seaside city of Varna.

The host country was represented by Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova and Deputy Economy Minister Daniela Vezieva, and the Russian side by First Deputy Justice Minister Sergey Gerasimov. The two delegations also included other government officials and senior business executives contributing to bilateral relations.

The meeting was aimed to invigorate the work of the Intergovernmental Commission and further elaborate the decisions which it made at its 15th session in Sofia in January.

The participants noted that the priority areas of bilateral relations include trade, economic, investment and regional cooperation, as well as relations between small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperation in energy, tourism, construction, agriculture, information and communication technology, transport, ship building and ship repair, science and education.

Vezieva said Sofia has an interest in increasing its economic cooperation and trade with Russia back to earlier levels. She said the priority areas in which Bulgaria can raise its exports to Russia are the food industry, electronics, metalworking and the tailoring sector. Vezieva expressed her concern about the fall in two-way trade.

For her part, Petkova thanked Gerasimov for Russia's successful cooperation with Bulgaria in the oil and gas sector, nuclear energy and the power industry. Russia is a major supplier of energy resources to Bulgaria. Thanks to the good joint work of Bulgarian and Russian companies, 87 per cent of the plan to extend the service life of Reactor Unit 5 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant has been fulfilled, Petkova said. She expects that the plan will be fully implemented by the end of this year.

The sides noted that Russia has been supplying growing amounts of equipment for the electricity transmission network of Bulgaria's Electricity System Operator. They also acknowledged the development of Bulgartransgaz' cooperation with Gazprom, including under an agreement on virtual reverse transmission of natural gas via the Bulgarian-Greek border for users in Bulgaria.

The two countries are also actively restoring their bilateral exchange of services. The flow of Russian tourists to Bulgaria has increased by 30 per cent.