Companies from the Vietnamese Provinces of Thanh Hóa and Tây Ninh Showed Interest in Cooperation with Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was a host of a bilateral business Forum, organised jointly with the Embassy of Vietnam in Sofia. The event was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic.   

The main purpose of the event was to strengthen the business contacts and encourage the investments between Bulgaria and Vietnam. The reason for the Forum was a visit from representatives of two provinces in Vietnam – namely, Thanh Hóa and Tây Ninh.

The companies from Vietnam expressed an interest in meetings with Bulgarian partners from the sectors of real estate, infrastructure, industrial parks, agriculture, tourism and tourist services, the textile and sewing industry, the industry sector in general; etc.

At the Forum opening, BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov emphasised that Vietnam’s rates of development are one more stimulus for Bulgaria to look for partners more actively. He recalled the benefits of the Free Trade Agreement concluded between the EU and Vietnam. According to him, Vietnamese businesses are already present in Bulgaria and the BCCI register lists 20 companies with Vietnamese participation and 45 trade representation offices of Vietnamese companies in Bulgaria. He asked Bulgarian businesses to be proactive in their relations with Vietnam.

In her speech of welcome, given to the Forum participants, the Ambassador of Vietnam in Bulgaria, H.E. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, pointed out the desire of her country to encourage bilateral economic cooperation and to facilitate the access of Bulgarian goods, services and technologies to the Vietnamese market.

The Diplomat also shared some of the major advantages of the two provinces, presented at the Forum, which stem from their geographical location and from the existing economic infrastructure and activity in these provinces.

Mai Xuan Liem, Standing Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Thanh Hóa Province, and Huynh Thanh Son, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Tây Ninh Province, acquainted the present representatives of Bulgarian businesses with the economic potential and development objectives, set for both provinces, and highlighted the economic areas of mutual interest. 

According to Mai Xuan Liem, local companies need partnership for technological renovation. In addition, the province’s logistics system needs modernisation. He highlighted the field of education as another area for increasing the cooperation of the province with Bulgaria, which is perceived as a bridge between local products and the European market.

Huynh Thanh Son listed the areas of mutual interest which have potential for cooperation between Tây Ninh Province and Bulgaria. The following areas are determined as such: information technologies, digital transformation, high-tech industry, pharmacy industry, high-tech agriculture, logistics, e-commerce and tourism.

The meeting continued with numerous talks between Bulgarian and Vietnamese companies. More than 60 representatives of both countries took part in the event.