site.btaBulgarian Deputy Minister Argues for Need of Broader EU Network of Trade, Investment Agreements

Addressing an EU Informal Ministerial Meeting on Trade in Valencia on October 20, Bulgarian Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Nikolay Pavlov said, quoted by his Ministry in a press release on Friday, that the network of EU trade and investment agreements with key partners needs to be broadened and that new initiatives need to be developed and implemented, say, by cooperating with particular countries with regard to critical raw materials supply chains.

Pavlov highlighted the need to ensure the effective and timely application of trade defence instruments and to draft new instruments if necessary. The Deputy Minister spoke about the importance of strengthening the multilateral trade system and of the reform of the World Trade Organization and of reducing interdependencies and increasing the diversification of trade.

During a strategic discussion on speeding up trade and investment-protection negotiations with India, Deputy Minister Pavlov pointed out that the EU is a leader in implementing the highest sustainable development standards. He stressed that the future free trade agreement with India should have a broader scope than the agreements that India is concluding with other trading partners. At the same time, in some of the areas where understanding is difficult to reach, the EU could take closer look at the political and economic specificities of India.  

The Deputy Minister conferred with Bulgarian EU Commissioner Iliana Ivanova. They discussed the economic challenges facing the EU and Bulgaria.