From July 5 to 8, 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Bulgaria and attended the Seventh Meeting of Heads of Government of Central and Eastern European Countries and China in Sofia. This visit was of great significance in pushing forward “16+1” cooperation to go further.

Cooperation in science, technology and innovation is one of the important topics of this visit. In the Joint Statement of the Government of the People‘s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria, both sides encourage research institutions, universities and enterprises in the two countries to cooperate in renewable energy and other fields, facilitate joint projects within the framework of China-Bulgaria Commission on Science and Technology Cooperation, and serve rapid economic development and industrial modernization in both countries. Practical cooperation between China and Bulgaria in the field of science, technology and innovation will benefit the two peoples and contribute to the economic development of the two countries.

On July 6, under the witness of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Zhang Haizhou and Bulgarian Deputy Minister Ivan Dimov of the Ministry of Education and Science signed the intergovernmental agreement on science and technology cooperation on behalf of their respective governments. The signing of this Agreement will consolidate the legal basis for intergovernmental cooperation in science and technology and ensure the sustainable development of cooperation.

Bulgaria is an important partner of China for science and technology cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. Under the guidance of the China-Bulgaria Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation in Science and Technology, the two countries have undertaken fruitful exchanges and cooperation in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology, ICT, new materials and etc. With the Belt and Road Initiative and the“16+1 Cooperation”platform, China-Bulgaria cooperation in science and innovation cooperation will have greater prospects in the future.