For the first five months of this year, Bulgarian export to Azerbaijan grew by nearly 40%
Bulgaria and Azerbaijan will look for new opportunities to promote bilateral economic relations. This became clear during a meeting between the Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Irina Shtonova and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Bulgaria H. E. Hussein Husseynov. The two countries have successful cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, information and communication technologies.
“Bulgaria and Azerbaijan are long-standing partners,” Deputy Minister Shtonova said and pointed out that the two countries have unrealised potential in areas such as infrastructure, transport, tourism, food industry and others. In her words, our country has a lot to offer in the field of green technologies, ICT and the automotive sector.
E. Hussein Husseynov stated Azerbaijan’s interest in increasing cooperation sectors in trade and economic relations. The Ambassador noted the rapid development of our country in the IT sector, as well as the well-trained personnel working in the field.
During the meeting Deputy Minister Shtonova and H.E. Husseynov noted the dramatic growth of bilateral trade between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan and expressed confidence that this positive trend will continue, with a further increase expected by the end of the year. In 2022, it was $419.2 million, up nearly 330% from 2021. For the first five months of this year, bilateral trade stood at $172.3 million, an increase of over 233.3% over the same period in 2022. Bulgarian export to Azerbaijan for the same period amounted to USD 14.2 million, marking an increase of nearly 40%.
Deputy Minister Shtonova and H.E. Husseynov also discussed the possibilities for expanding transit connections and creating a gas hub in Bulgaria. The strategic energy partnership between the two countries includes transit of Azerbaijan natural gas through Bulgaria to third countries. As an example of the successful bilateral cooperation and the good business conditions in Bulgaria, Deputy Minister Shtonova noted the opening of the first office in Bulgaria of the state oil company of Azerbaijan SOCAR.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need to hold a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, as well as to organize economic and trade forums, which will help provide conditions and opportunities for deepening economic cooperation.