Cambodia and Bulgaria have expressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations in various spheres, including trade and investment.

The commitment was reiterated at a meeting between Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and Marinela Petkova, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Kingdom of Cambodia, at the Commerce Ministry in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

During the meeting, they exchanged ideas on further strengthening the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Welcoming the Ambassador, the Commerce Minister hailed the Bulgarian government’s efforts in maintaining and promoting the values of the good traditional relationship and its cooperation and contributions towards the economic and social development of the Kingdom.

The Minister conveyed to the Ambassador his gratitude for the role she played during her diplomatic tenure in strengthening the relationship between the two countries, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Commerce Ministry.

The Bulgarian Ambassador is about to complete her diplomatic mission in Cambodia, and the Minister wished her great success in future roles and assignments.

During the interaction with the Ambassador, the Commerce Minister underlined the efforts and commitment of Cambodia to revive and rebuild the country’s trade and economy by entering into free trade agreements (FTAs) under the multilateral, regional, sub-regional and bilateral frameworks. The efforts were aimed at improving the sustainability and investment climate in Cambodia by bringing about reforms in laws, regulations and institutions, stated the Facebook post.

Thanking the Minister, the Bulgarian Ambassador spoke about the continuing cooperation and the willingness to further strengthen economic, trade and regional cooperation between the South Asian and European countries.

The Ambassador hailed the Cambodian government for encouraging Bulgarian traders and investors to explore the potential of trade and investment, especially in the field of agriculture including fruits and other farm products, as well as in the tourism sector in the Kingdom. These efforts, the Ambassador said helped contribute to restoring the economy and taking the Cambodia-Bulgaria bilateral trade relations to another level.

Both countries are in favour of speeding up the process for the formation of an international governmental diversity committee on economic cooperation according to the Agreement on Economic, Technical and Scientific Cooperation signed in 2019.

They also spoke about the importance of boosting regional cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU).

The Minister expressed the readiness of the Cambodian government to cooperate with the Bulgarian side to provide social and economic welfare to the people of both sides.

In 2021, Bulgaria exported $1.83 million worth of goods to Cambodia and imported $897.44 consignment from the Kingdom, according to the United Nations ComTrade database on international trade.

In 2020, Bulgaria exported $2.91 million in goods to Cambodia and imported $1.54 million consignment from the Southeast Asian country, according to OEC data.

Bulgarian shipments to Cambodia include heavy mixed woven cotton, pesticides and animal food, while it imported textiles, footwear, non-knit men’s coats and knit men’s suits.

During the last 24 years, Bulgarian exports to Cambodia have increased at an annualised rate of 18.7 percent, from $47.5 thousand in 1996 to $2.91 million in 2020.

During the same period, Cambodian exports to Bulgaria have surged at an annualised rate of 29.7 percent, from $2.99 thousand in 1996 to $1.54 million in 2020, OEC data show.

• Tags: Bulgaria, Cambodia Bulgaria trade