Key aspects of diplomatic relations

Switzerland and Bulgaria maintain good diplomatic relations. The high-level bilateral visits that take place focus on common interests and generally also involve exchanges on European or international issues.

Cooperation between the two countries will be further strengthened by the second Swiss contribution, which aims to reinforce existing Swiss–Bulgarian partnerships between public institutions and private organisations at all levels and to create new ones.

Treaty database

Economic cooperation

Trade volume between the two countries is relatively limited in scope. However, Switzerland is one of the main investors in Bulgaria, ranking in the top five in recent years. The volume of trade in 2023 was about CHF 1 billion. In 2023, Switzerland exported goods worth CHF 593 million to Bulgaria, while imports amounted to CHF 441 million. The balance of trade is therefore in Switzerland's favour.

Information on countries, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

Trade promotion, Switzerland Global Enterprise (SG-E)

Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce

Cooperation in education, research and innovation

Cooperation between Switzerland and Bulgaria in the field of research and innovation takes place mainly under the European framework programmes and the second Swiss contribution. Sofia University and the two federal institutes of technology, ETH Zurich and EPFL, signed a partnership agreement in 2022 to create INSAIT, the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology, the region's leading institute in its field.

As part of the second contribution, Switzerland is supporting Bulgaria in particular to extend and strengthen the dual vocational education and training system, involving the private sector on an equal footing. Switzerland is also running three incentive programmes designed to strengthen local research and collaboration with Swiss scientists.

Researchers and artists who are citizens of Bulgaria can apply to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships.

The Katzarovi Fund in Geneva offers scholarships to Bulgarian students who have already completed a course of university studies in Bulgaria and wish to do a post-graduate internship or enter a doctoral programme in Switzerland. These grants may also be used to enable qualified scientists to work in a research team and/or prepare a publication.

Swiss National Science Foundation instruments as part of Switzerland's second contribution

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists, SERI

Katzarovi Fund scholarships (French, Bulgarian)

Swiss contribution to selected EU member states

Bulgaria is one of the 13 new EU member states benefiting from cohesion support through Switzerland's second contribution. The Swiss–Bulgarian cooperation programme amounts to a total of CHF 92.5 million, plus Bulgarian co-financing. The projects will run until December 2029.

The framework agreement signed between the Swiss Federal Council and the Bulgarian government in September 2022 provides for 11 separate programmes that

• promote economic growth and social dialogue, reduce (youth) unemployment.
• manage migration and support integration. make public spaces safer.
• protect the environment and the climate.
• strengthen social systems.
• further civic engagement and transparency. 

Bulgaria – partner country for Switzerland's second contribution  

Cultural exchanges

Numerous private projects, some supported by Pro Helvetia, encourage contact between the two countries in the fields of music, sport, dance and the visual arts.

Swiss nationals in Bulgaria

At the end of 2023 there were 429 Swiss nationals living in Bulgaria.

History of bilateral relations

Switzerland has been represented in Bulgaria since 1911, when a consulate was opened in Sofia. It was upgraded to a legation in 1936 and an embassy in 1963. The first Bulgarian ambassador to Switzerland was accredited in 1915. Bern has been home to a Bulgarian legation since 1916. Since 2011, the regional consular centre in Bucharest has been providing consular services for Swiss citizens residing in Bulgaria.

In 2017, Doris Leuthard, then President of the Swiss Confederation, paid an official visit to Bulgaria, where she met with the Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, in Sofia. Former President Ueli Maurer welcomed President Radev in Meiringen, in the canton of Bern, in 2019 for an official visit to Switzerland.

Bulgaria, Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (de, fr, it)

Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland, Dodis