Bulgaria wants to strengthen agricultural cooperation with China: official

Representatives of the Bulgarian government and business said here on Friday that their country wanted to strengthen agricultural cooperation with China.

Vassil Groudev, Bulgarian deputy minister of agriculture and food, said the goal of his ministry was to strengthen trade and mutual interest between Bulgaria and China within the 16+1 mechanism.

Groudev made the statement at the signing ceremony of a memorandum between the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries (APACCCEEC) and the Bulgarian-Chinese Business Development Association (BCBDA).

Angel Hristozov, chairman of BCBDA, said the two associations would contribute to the development of more aspects of the agrarian sector between the two countries, such as the promotion of Bulgaria as a destination for business and investment, and the promotion of Bulgarian agricultural products and foodstuffs.

"We hope that together we will make widely known the fact that Bulgaria has fertile and clean land," Hristozov said.

Vasil Gelev, executive director of the APACCCEEC, added he hoped that the agreement would help further promote business contacts and cooperation between companies, organizations and associations from China and the CEE countries. Endit