Building policies and laws to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria

NDO - In order to continue promoting the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade and investment during the visit and working session in Bulgaria of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, on the afternoon of September 25 (local time), the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam chaired and coordinated with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Embassy of Vietnam in Bulgaria , and the Ministry of Innovation and Development of Bulgaria to organize the Forum on Policies and Laws to promote economic , trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria.

The forum was held at a very meaningful time, when the two countries celebrated the 73rd anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, and witnessed steady developments in many areas of bilateral cooperation.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue chaired the Forum with the participation of a number of leaders of ministries, branches and agencies of the National Assembly; representatives of 23 Vietnamese enterprises interested in business cooperation and investment with Bulgaria .

Economic-trade-investment cooperation occupies an important position in the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship. Important cooperation mechanisms and legal frameworks such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation; the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam ( EVFTA ), of which Bulgaria is a member; the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation; the Agreement on Encouragement and Protection of Investments... are important foundations contributing to promoting the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and complementarity.

On the Bulgarian side, there were the participation of the Vice President of the Bulgarian National Assembly, leaders of the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Industry, leaders of the Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Development; along with associations and nearly 100 representatives of Bulgarian businesses.

The presence of more than 150 delegates at the Forum showed the determination and desire to promote cooperation and seek business and investment opportunities of agencies, organizations and enterprises of the two countries.

Speaking at the Forum, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue emphasized: “To promote economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria in the coming time, the two sides need to soon hold the 24th Session of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade and scientific cooperation in 2023. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomed and highly appreciated the Bulgarian National Assembly's recent ratification of the EVIPA Agreement.

This is an important step towards the Agreement coming into effect, creating a basis for strengthening Vietnam's investment relations with EU countries, including Bulgaria.

In the coming time, the National Assembly Chairman proposed that Bulgaria facilitate the entry of Vietnamese consumer goods and agricultural products such as tea, coffee, seafood, vegetables, tropical fruits, textiles, footwear, and handicrafts into Bulgaria, and that Vietnam is ready to open its doors to Bulgarian goods such as wheat, vegetable oil, rose essential oil, dried fruits, wine, etc.

In addition, Bulgaria helps Vietnam urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the "yellow card" (IUU) warning for Vietnamese seafood products, mobilize other countries to soon ratify EVIPA and coordinate the implementation of the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement ( EVFTA ).

In terms of investment, Vietnam and Bulgaria have complementary potential and advantages, however, investment between the two countries is not commensurate with the potential.

Therefore, it is necessary to effectively implement cooperation mechanisms, focusing on encouraging investment between the two countries. Vietnam welcomes Bulgarian enterprises to invest in areas where Vietnam has demand and Bulgaria has strengths such as energy, transport infrastructure construction, information technology, biotechnology in preserving and processing vegetables, fruits, food; pharmaceuticals, environmental protection...; create conditions for enterprises of both sides to exchange, interact, seek investment opportunities; support the implementation of projects that are operating effectively.

The National Assembly Chairman emphasized: Vietnam is also interested in and wishes to develop Industry 4.0, digital technology, green energy and renewable energy. Regarding foreign investment attraction, Vietnam aims to selectively attract, prioritizing industries and fields such as: high technology, platform industry, supporting industry, electronic components, electric cars, electric batteries...; science and technology, innovation, research and development; green economy, digital economy, circular economy... He suggested that the two sides study the possibilities and exchange cooperation opportunities in the above fields to promote investment cooperation appropriately and effectively.

At the Forum, Ms. Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, gave a speech introducing Vietnam's industrial and trade policies; Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam, shared about policies to attract foreign investment in Vietnam.

Representatives of trade and investment management agencies of the two countries participated in the discussion session, answering a variety of concerns of organizations and businesses of the two countries on many aspects of economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Economic-trade-investment cooperation occupies an important position in the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship. Important cooperation mechanisms and legal frameworks such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation; the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam ( EVFTA ), of which Bulgaria is a member; the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation; the Agreement on Encouragement and Protection of Investments... are important foundations contributing to promoting the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and complementarity.

Despite the general difficulties of the world economy in recent years and the remaining difficulties in bilateral trade and investment cooperation, 2021 witnessed the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Bulgaria recover and grow strongly at 108% compared to 2020, reaching nearly 250 million USD. However, in 2022, this figure dropped to more than 200 million USD due to the influence of many factors in the region and the world.

Leaders of ministries, sectors and enterprises said: It can be assessed that the import-export turnover between the two countries is still very modest compared to the potential.

2021 saw the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Bulgaria recover and grow strongly by 108% compared to 2020, reaching nearly 250 million USD. However, in 2022, this figure dropped to more than 200 million USD due to the influence of many factors in the region and the world.

Within the framework of the Forum, there was also a direct trade session between organizations and businesses of the two countries, sharing potential and promising cooperation and investment opportunities in a variety of fields: Electricity, energy, aviation, import and export of cashew nuts, pepper, raw cotton, rice, animal feed ingredients, pharmaceutical cosmetics, food ingredients, spices, detergents...

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