Armenia and Bulgaria expand economic, industrial, and high-tech cooperation

A delegation from Armenia, led by Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, paid a working visit to the Republic of Bulgaria, where it held a series of meetings starting July 16 to explore opportunities for expanding economic and scientific-technical cooperation.

A key highlight of the visit was the 9th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Bulgaria. The session was co-chaired by Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev and Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.

During the session, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at fostering collaboration between Armenia’s Ministry of High-Tech Industry and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Innovation and Growth. The agreement outlines strategic cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, space exploration, digital healthcare, biotechnology, IT talent exchange, and the development of startup ecosystems.

The Armenian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was officially inaugurated as part of the visit. At the opening ceremony, remarks were delivered by H.E. Tsovinar Hambardzumyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Bulgaria, and Levon Hambardzumyan, President of the newly established Chamber.

During his visit to Sofia, Minister Hayrapetyan held bilateral meetings with key Bulgarian officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov, and Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov.

Throughout all meetings, both sides praised the long-standing historical and cultural ties between the Armenian and Bulgarian peoples, reaffirmed their mutual respect and shared values, and expressed a strong commitment to deepening political, economic, technological, investment, and research (R&D) cooperation. New avenues for future collaboration were also outlined.

Minister Hayrapetyan also visited the Sofia Tech Park, where he toured one of the region’s most powerful supercomputing centers. The center supports cutting-edge solutions in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate modeling, and strategic manufacturing.

He was briefed on the supercomputer's technical capabilities, data processing infrastructure, and potential areas for future cooperation-particularly in AI and Big Data joint initiatives. During the visit, future development plans for the center were presented, including accelerated AI model training, the integration of high-performance servers, and initiatives to attract international research teams.