Deputy prime minister and economy, investment and industry minister Alexander Pulev has offered US companies in Washington joint ventures with the Bulgarian state and production in Bulgaria, the ministry said.
Pulev is on an official visit to the US. He and Bradley McKinney, deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Commerce, opened a forum on defence and security opportunities in the Black Sea region. The department organised the forum, which is part of the annual exhibition of the Association of the United States Army.
The two held a bilateral meeting before the forum. They discussed deeper cooperation, technology transfer and wider partnerships between Bulgarian and American firms in the high-tech and defence sectors.
Pulev also met large US companies, including Boeing Defense, Space & Security and L3Harris. He visited the Washington headquarters of Lockheed Martin, one of the world's leading makers of aircraft and missile systems and space technology.
The talks covered wider partnerships with Bulgarian companies in aviation, defence and space technology, and in autonomous drones. They also covered industrial cooperation and bringing Bulgarian firms into international supply chains.
Pulev said he believes the processes can speed up and industrial cooperation can reach a new level. Bulgaria is open to investment from the US, he said, and there is political will and capacity to deliver concrete results.
The offer includes more production capacity, upgrades to existing plants and highly qualified engineers. "This means direct joint ventures with the Bulgarian state and the chance to make products in Bulgaria, not just contracts to buy finished goods," the deputy prime minister said.
Maritime security is one of the main priorities, he said. The search will be for high-tech solutions that combine American capacity with Bulgarian engineering and technical skills in drones, counter-drone systems, surveillance and cybersecurity.
"We welcome American companies that want to build production in Bulgaria, carry out a full transfer of technology and create highly skilled, well-paid jobs," Pulev said.
Pulev leads a Bulgarian business delegation of 20 companies. The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria organised it.
Each year, the Association of the United States Army exhibition draws more than 40,000 participants, over 750 exhibitors and representatives of more than 100 countries. The programme combines displays of defence technology and equipment with professional forums, talks on modernising the US Army, and meetings between military leaders, representatives of institutions, defence companies and international delegations.
At the start of the week, the ministry announced the visit. Pulev said that in the US he would present what Bulgarian companies can offer and work for long-term partnerships that bring added value to the Bulgarian economy. He said Bulgarian industry can play an even more active part in supply chains and build partnerships with leading global companies. The aim is for Bulgarian business to gain access to new markets, investment, technology development and sustainable growth.