TEHRAN — Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova who is in Tehran for the third round of consultations with Iran, met on Monday with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari.

At the meeting, the Iranian deputy foreign minister expressed pleasure over increase in trade relations between the two sides over the past year and described transit as well as transportation as two advantages of the Tehran-Sofia ties that can help expand bilateral and regional trade cooperation.

Safari pointed to energy as another area in which the two countries can work together. 

He then expressed Iran’s readiness for cooperation with Bulgaria in this regard.

For her part, Petrova said the trend of trade relations between Iran and Bulgaria is growing. 

Referring to Europe’s concerns regarding energy and food security, she declared her country’s readiness to expand cooperation with Iran in the two spheres.

Petrova also described the joint session of entrepreneurs from the two countries and the new round of meetings of the joint economic commission as important steps toward increasing trade exchanges.

Trade volume between Iran and Bulgaria in 2021 reached 185 million dollars, which showed a 30 percent increase compared to 2020.