The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) hosted an official visit by a Vietnamese delegation led by Her Excellency Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Bulgaria, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The delegation included representatives from various directorates within the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Vietnam, responsible for the implementation of mediation in dispute resolution between parties.
As part of the visit, a Bulgarian-Vietnamese round table was held on the topic of "Opportunities for Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution through Mediation."
The event was opened by Mr. Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the BCCI, and Ivaylo Dermendzhiev, President of the Mediation Center at the Arbitration Court of the Chamber.
The guests were introduced to the activities of the Arbitration Court and the Mediation Center at the BCCI. The Chamber unites 55,000 members, who have the opportunity to resolve their commercial disputes through arbitration and mediation.
The two procedures go hand in hand under a unified management. The Arbitration Court at the BCCI is the oldest arbitration institution in Bulgaria, founded in 1897 as a conciliation court. It resolves disputes involving major state-owned and private companies alike. A distinctive feature of Bulgarian arbitration is that arbitrators actively encourage the parties to reach an amicable settlement, which can then be formally recorded as a consent award.
The Mediation Center at the BCCI’s Arbitration Court was established in 2005, with its first trainers prepared under a program developed by Harvard University. To date, the Center has trained approximately 2,000 mediators and conducted over 100 training sessions.
The Deputy Minister of Justice of Vietnam emphasized that bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Vietnam span 76 years. He presented the Vietnamese system for alternative dispute resolution, noting that it includes both judicial and extrajudicial (local) mediation. Local mediation is regulated by a dedicated law and applies to disputes at the community level, with its costs fully covered by the state.
The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to exchange experience and ideas, as well as to establish direct contacts. Participants discussed current achievements, challenges, and potential solutions in the field of alternative dispute resolution within today's dynamic economic environment.
The parties discussed the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement between the Arbitration Court at the BCCI and the Ho Chi Minh City International Arbitration Center in Vietnam.
In 2025, economic and trade relations between the two countries saw significant progress, marked by steady growth in bilateral trade and enhanced cooperation in strategic areas.
The round table held at the BCCI represents an important step toward deepening this partnership within the legal sphere as well.