Kazakhstan and Bulgaria aim to expand bilateral cooperation

Astana, October 18, 2023 – Political consultations held today in Astana between the foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Bulgaria have reaffirmed the mutual commitment to further expand trade, economic and investment cooperation.

At the negotiations Kazakhstan’s delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko. Delegation from Bulgaria was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tihomir Anguelov Stoytchev.

The parties thoroughly discussed the current state and future prospects of Kazakhstan-Bulgaria relations, including the further expansion of the legal framework, enhancement of inter-parliamentary cooperation and interaction within the framework of multilateral organizations. Diplomats exchanged views on major international issues.

“Bulgaria – is our important partner in the South East Europe and we are ready to expand interaction in areas of mutual interest. For example, we have a great potential for cooperation in tourism. At the same time, the revitalization of the Kazakh-Bulgarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation will contribute to identify new avenues” – stated Roman Vassilenko.

Tihomir Stoytchev expressed Bulgarian’s interest in tapping into the potential of cooperation in promising areas such as energy, green hydrogen, telecommunications, transport and logistics. In this context, he proposed to join efforts to develop the Middle Corridor, which would result in an increase in bilateral trade volume.

Following the discussion, both delegations reached an accord to maintain an ongoing dialogue between their respective foreign ministries, underscoring the importance of regular bilateral consultations.

For reference: In the first eight months of 2023, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 63.9 million US dollars, in 2022 - 181.3 million US dollars. From 2005 to the 1st quarter of 2023, the gross inflow of direct investments from Bulgaria to Kazakhstan totaled 64.39 million US dollars (5.9 million USD in 2021, 8.66 million USD in 2022). There are about 70 enterprises with Bulgarian capital in Kazakhstan.