Chairman of the National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ (right) and President at Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov had talks in Sofia on September 25. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

SOFIA — Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vương Đình Huệ received representatives of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Geotechmin OOD, and Biovet JSC in Sofia on September 25 (local time), as part of his official visit to the European country.

The associations and enterprises of Bulgaria introduced the fields they are operating in, including business connection, mining, manufacturing of food and veterinary products, and other industrial sectors.

They also expressed their intention to connect and readiness to form investment and business links with Vietnamese partners.

Chairman Huệ spoke highly of the Bulgarian NA’s recent ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and considered this a stride which, together with the ratification by the legislatures of other EU countries, will help the deal come into effect soon and generate benefits for all EU members and Việt Nam.

He called on the BIA and BCCI to cooperate with the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). He also assigned the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria to coordinate with relevant organisations of the European country to hold such events as seminars, business trips, forums, fairs, and exhibitions so as to help the countries’ enterprises seek partners and explore investment and business opportunities.

Aside from fueling trade activities, the EVIPA, once taking effect, would facilitate bilateral investment, he noted.

When setting up partnerships with local partners and investing in Việt Nam, Bulgarian enterprises would have conditions to enter the broader Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market, which has a combined population of about 650 million and is the world’s fifth largest economy. Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors and businesses working with Bulgarian firms would also hold chances for cooperation with other EU members, especially the Balkan countries, Huệ went on.

The visiting leader said that during his meetings with the Bulgarian President and Prime Minister, the host leaders had affirmed their support for the two countries’ businesses to form joint ventures to invest in each other’s markets or a third country.

Talking to the representative of Geotechmin OOD – a major mining company, he said there remained enormous cooperation potential in this field. He suggested it invest in or transfer mining equipment to Việt Nam.

The NA Chairman told Biovet JSC, which specialises in manufacturing veterinary products, that the export value of Việt Nam’s agricultural sector topped US$53 billion in 2022. The Southeast Asian nation was also a big market for veterinary products as its animal husbandry sector was growing fast.

Apart from working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to discuss concrete cooperation areas, the company could partner with some Vietnamese companies to distribute its products or even build a factory producing veterinary drugs in the country. — VNS