Bulgaria's innovation ministry and the Bulgarian Space Cluster have signed a memorandum to develop the country's space industry, the ministry said.

The agreement puts their long-term cooperation on a formal footing. It covers companies that already work in space and technology groups able to build products, services and skills for use there. The cluster brings together firms from Bulgaria's space industry and experts in space and related technologies.

Both sides will work to help Bulgarian companies and organisations take a bigger part in European and international programmes. The ministry will use the cluster's data and analysis on Bulgaria's space sector when it writes policy. The memorandum also sets out joint work with the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and other international partners, as well as events, information days and other initiatives for the sector.

Deputy minister of innovation and digital transformation Mira Yosifova called space a strategic field with huge potential for new ideas, high-tech manufacturing and products with high added value. "At the ministry we are working steadily and actively for better conditions for Bulgarian companies and research bodies in the space sector," she said. She sees the memorandum as a step towards closer partnership between the state and industry, and towards building a competitive Bulgarian space ecosystem.

Lyubomir Baburov, co-chair of the cluster, says now is the time for firms to link up their capabilities and skills better and make them more visible to Europe's space ecosystem. "Bulgaria has an excellent base of companies that cover most parts of the space chain," he said. Baburov welcomed the ministry's aim for Bulgaria to be a recognised player in Europe's space sector, and added that the cluster will work towards this through industry.

Bulgaria must draw up its national space strategy by the end of 2026. Yosifova announced it in September in Paris, at the 33rd meeting of the ESA's Plan for European Cooperating States (PECS) committee. In 2027 the ministry plans a national programme for strategic innovation sectors, which will include space technology, microelectronics and dual-use technology. One of the ministry's goals is to upgrade Bulgaria's partnership with ESA to associate membership.