Economic relations

Main areas of cooperation: 

The main areas of existing economic relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria are the energy sector; such as natural gas, oil and petrochemical products, and non-energy sector, transit transportation, agriculture, light industry, construction, tourism, sports and pharmaceuticals.

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) plays an important role in expanding energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. In this regard, the following important projects have been implemented in recent years:

The commercial operation of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector (IGB) was launched on 1 October 2022,

On 25 April 2023, in accordance with the “Ring of Solidarity” initiative, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), FGSZ (Hungary), Eustream (Slovakia) and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), which defines the directions of cooperation for the supply of additional gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through the transmission system network,

On 25 April 2023, the opening of SOCAR's representative office in Bulgaria took place as part of the visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria,

On 10 December 2023, the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnector, a continuation of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector (IGB), was commissioned,

On 8 May 2024, within the framework of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Republic of Azerbaijan, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between SOCAR and the Bulgarian company Asarel Investment.

On 13 November 2024, within the framework of the visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the COP29 summit, a Joint Development Agreement was signed between SOCAR and Asarel Energy with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. 

Bulgaria has expressed its interest in cooperation in the delivery of electricity to Europe under the Black Sea within the framework of the "Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the Development and Transmission of Green Energy between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary", signed in Bucharest on 17 December 2022.

At the Istanbul Energy Forum held on 22 November 2024, an agreement was reached to establish the "Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Bulgaria Green Energy Corridor", which envisages the export of electricity from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria via land borders, part of the cooperation in the field of green energy between the four countries. 

The 7th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in Sofia on 30-31 October 2025.  There is a wide potential for bilateral economic cooperation in non-energy sectors such as transport, industry, agriculture, ICT and tourism.

Chronology of Intergovernmental Commission meetings

In 1999, the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was established between the Governments of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria.

Trade turnover

According to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 72.65 million US dollars (exports to Bulgaria amounted to 54 million US dollars, imports to 18.65 million US dollars), increased sharply in 2022 to 325.41 million US dollars (exports to Bulgaria amounted to 292 million US dollars, imports to 33.29 million US dollars), and in 2023 to 510.93 million US dollars (exports to Bulgaria amounted to 481.93 million US dollars, imports to 29.00 million US dollars), and the foreign trade balance for 2023 was positive for Azerbaijan at 452.93 million US dollars. In 2024, the trade turnover volume was 718.65 million US dollars, including imports of 35.60 million US dollars. USD, the volume of exports amounted to 683.05 million USD, and the foreign trade balance was positive 647.45 million USD. Compared to 2023, in 2024, trade turnover with the Republic of Bulgaria increased by 40.66 percent, including imports by 22.75 percent and exports by 41.73 percent. In 2024, the rank of the Republic of Bulgaria in the foreign trade turnover of the Republic of Azerbaijan was 13, and in exports it was 9. In January-October 2025, the volume of mutual trade turnover was 666.51 million USD, including exports of 646.287 million USD, and imports of 19.578 million USD.

The composition of exports from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria: natural gas, urea fertilizer, propyl and isopropyl alcohol, aluminium alloys, etc.
The composition of imports from Bulgaria to Azerbaijan:  light distillates, medicines, paper and cardboard products, machinery, electrical equipment and parts, various food products (food additives), bakery products, clothing and clothing accessories, optical, medical, photographic and precision instruments, perfumes and cosmetics, etc.