Cargo containers at Gemalink international port located in Cai Mep-Thi Vai port cluster. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)

In Burgas city, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria recently coordinated with the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organize the Vietnam-Bulgaria Business Forum.

According to a VNA correspondent in Europe, this is one of the practical activities to implement agreements during General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria (October 22-24, 2025), in which the two sides agreed to expand cooperation at the local level and strengthen economic , trade and investment relations.

The seminar attracted the participation of representatives of the Burgas city government, industry associations and nearly 50 businesses operating in the city.

Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet said the seminar took place at a time when the two countries were celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1950-2025) and right after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership during the official visit to Bulgaria by General Secretary To Lam.

General Secretary To Lam and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding on friendship and cooperation between Vietnam's Phu Tho province and Bulgaria's Pernik province. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

The Ambassador affirmed that the two countries have many complementary advantages: Bulgaria can be a gateway for Vietnamese enterprises to effectively access the Southeast European and European Union (EU) markets, while Vietnam is an important transit point for Bulgarian enterprises to expand their presence in the dynamic ASEAN region.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that the Seminar would help representatives of the Bulgarian government and businesses gain more useful information about Vietnam's investment and business environment, while creating a foundation to open up substantive, effective and comprehensive cooperation projects, contributing to increasing bilateral trade and investment turnover in the coming time.

Mr. Stanimir Apostolov, Deputy Mayor of Burgas, highly appreciated the economic achievements that Vietnam has made in recent years, and called on Vietnamese enterprises to invest in areas that the city is prioritizing for development such as innovation, smart cities and industrial park infrastructure development...

The city government pledges to create the most favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest and do business in Burgas city.

Mr. Todor Demirkov, Chairman of the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry representing the business community, shared about the strengths of local businesses, stating that the dynamic and fast-growing Vietnamese market is increasingly attracting the attention of Bulgarian businesses in general and Burgas city in particular, looking for business cooperation opportunities.

In the coming time, the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry will have specific and practical activities to connect more regularly with Vietnamese associations and enterprises, thereby contributing to better support for enterprises in terms of market information, customers and business opportunities.

Regarding the potential and strengths in each economic sector of the city, Ms. Ivelina Strateva, Director of the Burgas Department of Economy, commented that with advantages in the fields of seaports and the largest port system in the Balkan region, Burgas has a connecting transport infrastructure, developed industrial and logistics zones, as well as strengths in information technology and agriculture.

The two countries have complementary areas of cooperation, especially in agricultural and seafood trade, food production and processing, digital technology, logistics and clean energy, services, and tourism.

With its existing potential and strengths, Burgas is ready to be an important gateway for Vietnamese companies to access the Southeast European market.

Delegates attending the seminar also listened to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of Trade Office, Embassy of Vietnam in Bulgaria, summarize the economic achievements that Vietnam has achieved in recent times as well as analyze potential products, strengths in trade as well as potential investment fields for businesses of the two countries, emphasizing the incentives that the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) brings, along with Bulgaria joining the Schengen area from January 1, 2025 and preparing to join the Eurozone, which will be favorable factors for businesses in the coming time.

At the discussion session, representatives of the city government and businesses also discussed the driving forces and challenges in Vietnam-Bulgaria cooperation, emphasizing some key pillars for the new phase of the Strategic Partnership, proposing key areas such as logistics, renewable energy, smart infrastructure and digital economy.

At the same time, the two countries need to promote cooperation in science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, focusing on building an innovation ecosystem, promoting joint research and technology transfer from Bulgaria to Vietnam.

Previously, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet had a working session with Ms. Besna Baltina, Deputy Mayor of Burgas.

Talking with representatives of the city government, the Ambassador affirmed that Burgas has advantages that are very suitable for the cooperation needs of Vietnamese enterprises, such as the largest seaport in the Black Sea, connecting traffic infrastructure, developed industrial-logistics zones, strengths in pharmaceuticals, processing, information technology and agriculture.

The two countries have many complementary areas, especially agricultural and aquatic product trade, light industry, food production and processing, digital technology, logistics and clean energy.

The Ambassador proposed that the two sides strengthen cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, investment, culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

Regarding some specific cooperation orientations, the Ambassador proposed that the two sides coordinate to periodically organize trade and investment promotion events in Burgas; coordinate to build a list of projects that Burgas wants to attract investment or industries that the city prioritizes so that the Embassy can support connecting suitable businesses in Vietnam; and request the city of Burgas to consider sending a delegation of leaders and businesses to visit Vietnam next year to directly exchange and expand specific cooperative relations.

The Ambassador affirmed that he is always ready to act as a bridge, accompany and support to strengthen cooperation between Burgas and provinces and cities of Vietnam, especially coastal localities with many similarities and room for cooperation.

Ms. Besna Baltina, Deputy Mayor of Burgas, expressed her honor to welcome the Ambassador and affirmed that Bulgaria and Vietnam have a valuable traditional friendship, especially in the current challenging international geopolitical context.

Personally, Ms. Besna Baltina also has special feelings for Vietnam due to good impressions of her previous Vietnamese friends.

Sharing about Burgas' development strategy, Ms. Baltina said the city is developing a number of large industrial zones and preparing to merge some neighboring localities to create more favorable conditions for economic development and investment.

The city's priority is to attract and retain young people, open up new job opportunities, and attract foreign investment, which sees Vietnam as a potential partner.

Regarding the field of education, Ms. Baltina emphasized that the city of Burgas will pay special attention to development in the coming time, planning to develop multi-disciplinary and multi-professional educational institutions, training high-quality human resources with many courses in English in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemistry, water purification, environment, economics, information technology... aiming to attract international students, including Vietnamese students.

The city government always supports educational institutions in the city to connect and cooperate with Vietnam.

Ms. Baltina said that Burgas is currently actively campaigning to be recognized as the European Capital of Culture in 2032, ready to coordinate activities to promote Vietnamese culture and cuisine, support the idea of ​​opening a charter flight connecting Vietnam and Burgas, and request the Embassy to introduce major Vietnamese travel companies to create cooperative connections and increase tourist exchanges./.

According to vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/viet-nam-bulgaria-mo-rong-hop-tac-dia-phuong-va-day-manh-giao-thuong-160252.html