Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia have the potential to deepen cooperation in the field of construction

The Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have the potential to deepen cooperation in the field of construction, road infrastructure, trade in construction materials and all other areas of mutual interest. This opinion was expressed during their meeting by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Grozdan Karadjov and HE Mr. Khalid Bin Kamal Fakih, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Bulgaria.

Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov said Bulgaria views the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as one of its most important partners in the Middle East region. Despite the economic crises caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, trade and economic relations between the two countries have intensified, with bilateral trade growing by 90% on an annual basis.

For his part, HE Khalid Bin Kamal Faqih noted that there is a serious potential for joint cooperation and is optimistic about the future of relations between the two countries. He presented the National Reform Strategy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, which aims to achieve economic diversification and make Saudi Arabia a major investment power worldwide. As part of Vision 2030, His Excellency presented the projects for building new, so-called smart cities that will be completely carbon neutral.

Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadjov also informed that Bulgaria has serious commitments regarding the decarbonisation of our economy by improving the energy efficiency of the building stock, which will lead to a significant reduction in energy consumption. Our country plans to achieve a reduction of 31.67% in final energy consumption by 2030 compared to 2007. He commented that we have good designers who have extensive experience with international projects, as well as good construction companies that would could contribute to achieving the lofty goals that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set for itself in the field of infrastructure and civil engineering.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed interest in the possibilities for importing construction materials produced in Saudi Arabia. The Minister explained that due to the high inflation for Bulgarian companies it is important to find other markets for the supply of bitumen, rebar and other construction materials.

Minister Karadjov acquainted the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the strategic infrastructure sites in Bulgaria, which could be of interest for foreign investment. Among them are the Black Sea highway, the Vidin-Montana-Sofia highway with a tunnel crossing under the Petrohan pass, the highway from Ruse through the Balkan Mountains to southern Bulgaria.