site.btaEconomy Minister: USA Is Among Bulgaria's Leading Foreign Trade Partners

The United States is among Bulgaria's leading foreign trade partners, and Bulgaria is actively working to develop bilateral trade and economic ties, Economy Minister Peter Dilov said at the Explore US 2025 Conference here on Thursday. Bilateral trade has been growing steadily in recent years, amounting to USD 1.4 billion in the January-October 2024 period, with a positive trade balance. Bulgarian exports for that period totalled 2024,  he specified.

The forum was jointly organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency with the support of the US Embassy in Bulgaria to explain the opportunities for trade and investment in the USA. 

According to Minister Dilov, the US market is among the main export destinations for Bulgarian products from the high-tech spectrum. He is convinced that much more can be done to stimulate joint activities and bilateral trade so as to boost the further development and expansion of economic relations between Bulgaria and the US. "The priorities of this cooperation are the development of trade, energy, high-tech industries, digitalisation, connectivity and clean technologies," Dilov listed. "Bulgaria provides favourable conditions for various areas and especially in digitisation and green economy, automotive industry, fintech solutions, defence industry, in the space sector and e-commerce. Traditional services that Bulgaria exports to the US market - outsourcing, software, IT - services and engineering - are successfully developing." 

Dilov believes that Bulgarian industrial and defence technology companies have the potential to engage in joint projects, research and development and production processes.  

He assured the forum attendees that the Bulgarian government is working hard to create a favourable business environment to encourage bilateral cooperation. "Our ambition is to support business by providing access to finance, encouraging public-private partnerships and creating integration of Bulgarian companies in international supply chains," the Minister said.

He added that he hoped for the support of the United States in the process of Bulgaria's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which he described as a long-term and priority goal for Bulgaria's foreign policy.