President Rumen Radev held a meeting in Riyadh with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The Bulgarian head of state arrived today in the Saudi capital, accompanied by his wife Desislava Radeva, to participate in the ninth edition of the "Future Investment Initiative" forum, the president's press office announced.
"The 2030 Vision for the modernization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through targeted investments in the fields of high technology, innovation, energy and education opens up favorable prospects for the implementation of mutually beneficial projects with Bulgaria," Radev said at the meeting, according to BTA.
The head of state highlighted Bulgaria's establishment as a center for the development of high technologies in Southeast Europe. Radev pointed out a number of technology companies and scientific units, the activities of the region's first Institute for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, as well as the upcoming establishment in Sofia of one of the six artificial intelligence factories embedded in the key computing infrastructure of the European Union.
The Bulgarian factory "BRAIN++" will be located in "Sofia Tech Park" and will include a next-generation supercomputer "Discoverer++", adapted for cutting-edge artificial intelligence workloads. The project is worth 90 million euros and is expected to begin construction in 2026.
The common position of the two countries was that Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia have achievements in the fields of high technology, innovation, sustainable solutions in energy and defense. This creates a solid foundation for the development of the bilateral trade-economic, scientific and investment partnership. The mutual interest in expanding scientific and educational exchange was also noted, as well as the opportunities for using European financial mechanisms for the implementation of joint projects.
During the meeting, the Bulgarian head of state expressed our country's support for the efforts of the countries of the Middle East to cease hostilities in the region as soon as possible and to achieve a sustainable peaceful solution through diplomacy.
President Radev renewed his invitation to Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to carry out his postponed visit to Bulgaria together with business representatives to subsequently deepen the bilateral dialogue at the highest level and stimulate bilateral economic ties.
Within the framework of the "Future Investment Initiative" forum, which brings together state and government leaders, leading investors and influential business representatives from around the world, Rumen Radev will hold a number of bilateral meetings. The head of state will participate in a high-level discussion dedicated to preserving economic security in the face of disrupted supply chains, global market fragmentation and rising tariffs.