Bulgarian Ambassador in Cairo Roman Petrov asserted that Egypt is a key trade and economic partner for his country in the Middle East and Africa.

Interviewed by MENA, Petrov said the volume of trade between the two countries reached dlrs 456 million in 2014, a figure which ranks Bulgaria in the 11th position among the European countries which have trade relations with Egypt.

Egyptian exports to Bulgaria recorded a notable increase of 158 percent in the past year reaching dlrs 207 million, he explained.

Egypt's exports to Bulgaria include unrefined oil products, chemicals and diesel oil at a value of dlrs 150 million, while Bulgarian exports to Egypt include mining and wheat valued at dlrs 80 million, added the ambassador.

As per the tourism sector, Petrov said there are current talks to renew an agreement signed between the two countries in 1988 whereby the number of tourists from Bulgaria, currently standing at 3,000 to 4,000 annually, would increase in the coming phase.

He made it clear that the agreement would open the way for direct and charter flights between the two countries as well as tourism booking and ticketing instead of depending on the Russian flights.

He said the Bulgarian tourism minister will visit Egypt in early 2016 to clinch the new agreement with the Egyptian side.