President Radev in Saudi Arabia: Bulgarian Ministries Should Be Much More Active in Attracting Investment

BTA special correspondent Nikolay Trifonov, Dimitrina Solakova

President Rumen Radev at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 28, 2025 (BTA Photo/Vladimir Shokov)

Riyadh,

28.10.2025 17:51

(BTA)

Bulgaria must open up, and its ministries must have a much more active - if not aggressive - policy to attract investment, President Rumen Radev told reporters here on Tuesday. The head of State is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, where on Tuesday he participated in the official opening of the Future Investment Initiative at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Radev also joined a panel discussion on the true cost of economic security and met with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi and Richard Attias, Chairman of the FII Institute Executive Committee.

The Minister of Commerce told Radev that he expects Bulgarian ministers to be much more active and to communicate with their counterparts, because, in his opinion, there was currently no such communication, Radev told reporters. This is an important condition for attracting any investment, and the potential is great, the head of State added.

On Monday, Radev met with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and again invited him to visit Bulgaria. "He will come when we are ready for specific projects, for signing specific agreements. We have not yet signed the agreement on mutual protection of investments, so there is a lot of homework to be done before he comes to Bulgaria," the President explained.

In Radev's words, Saudi Arabia is a leading political and economic factor in the Middle East with growing global influence, and is Bulgaria's key partner in the Persian Gulf region. "We can see how, guided by the Crown Prince's strategic Vision 2030, the country is undergoing a process of large-scale modernization - in terms of technology, economic diversification, and the opening up of society," the Bulgarian President added.

He went on to say that there are many areas in which the two countries can cooperate: the traditional economy, trade, investment, defence and the defence industry, education, culture, and pharmacy. There is also great potential in new areas, because Saudi Arabia is establishing itself as a centre for innovation, scientific research, investment, and energy transformation. These are areas in which Bulgaria has the potential to offer knowledge, sustainable solutions, and partnerships. Bulgaria is establishing itself as an innovation hub for the Southeast European region, so its interests and those of Saudi Arabia coincide, the head of State commented.

Tuesday's forum is an example of how global politics and business can work together, how they can combine tradition with modernity, Radev pointed out. "We must strike a balance between the resources we allocate for everyday life, for today, and what we allocate for the future. We see that when we focus on investing heavily in the future - as in the case of the Green Deal - we may not invest enough in sectors that guarantee our competitiveness in the short and medium term," Radev added.

/RY/