Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to Bulgaria by Party General Secretary To Lam is expected to open up new cooperation opportunities in trade and investment through greater market access for both sides, while helping the two countries strengthen a solid and trustworthy bridge linking Bulgaria with ASEAN and Vietnam with the EU.
Complementary relations
According to trade experts, Bulgaria was among the first countries in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The two sides have regularly maintained delegation exchanges at various levels, including high-level contacts, and have held periodic bilateral cooperation mechanisms. They have also cooperated and supported each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, as well as within the frameworks of ASEAN-EU strategic partnership and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation has continued to expand, with both sides implementing initiatives in science and technology cooperation, focusing on biotechnology, agriculture, information and communications technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and green energy.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) cited data from Vietnam Customs as showing that two-way trade rose nearly 2.6 times, from 102.5 million USD in 2015 to 263 million USD in 2024. Vietnam’s exports to Bulgaria grew almost 4.6 times during the same period, from about 41 million USD to 187 million USD. However, these figures still fall short of the two sides’ potential and relationship. Specifically, Vietnam’s exports to Bulgaria last year accounted for just 0.49% of Bulgaria’s total imports, while Bulgarian shipments to Vietnam represented only 0.02% of Vietnam’s total imports.
In 2024, total bilateral trade reached 263 million USD, up 24.4% year-on-year, with a trade surplus of 111 million USD in Vietnam’s favour. Vietnam’s exports to Bulgaria hit 187 million USD, an annual increase of 32.2%.
In the first nine months of 2025, the figure stood at around 165.9 million USD, down 17% year-on-year, with exports reaching 110.4 million USD (down 21.7%) and imports 55.5 million USD (down 5.5%).
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that Vietnam and Bulgaria share a long-standing traditional friendship. Today, Vietnam ranks among the world’s 40 largest economies and has signed numerous free trade agreements (FTAs) and established ties with nearly 70 countries and territories. With a population exceeding 100 million, 65% of whom are of working age, Vietnam offers a dynamic and growing market. Through Vietnam, Bulgarian businesses can access not only the ASEAN market but also other international partners that are part of Vietnam’s existing FTAs.
Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Nikolay Pavlov affirmed that Bulgaria offers special incentives for Vietnamese businesses in cooperation and investment projects. He identified labour cooperation as a promising area, alongside agriculture, high technology, and energy.
Ample room for growth
Dien expressed confidence that with the advantages brought by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), along with the efforts by both governments, parliaments, and businesses, bilateral trade and investment will continue to thrive.
According to the MoIT, Vietnam will further strengthen cooperation with Bulgaria’s competition authorities to share information, exchange experience, and learn from each other, thereby fostering a fair, effective competitive environment and promoting trade and investment opportunities for enterprises of both countries.
With Vietnam’s increasingly open, transparent, and internationally aligned industrial and trade policies, the country has been and will continue to improve mechanisms and policies on industry and trade to create favourable conditions for foreign investors in general and those from Bulgaria in particular, to engage in production and business activities in Vietnam./.
