An important milestone that started to take relations with Bulgaria to a new level

President Vo Van Thuong expressed his belief that the visit of the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament to Vietnam this time will create momentum to promote the traditional Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship.

President Vo Van Thuong receives Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov. (Source: VNA)

On the afternoon of January 8th, at the Presidential Palace, President Vo Van Thuong received the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov, who is on an official visit to Vietnam.

President Vo Van Thuong welcomed the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament on his official visit to Vietnam at the beginning of the new year 2024, demonstrating the high level of political importance and trust in the cooperative relationship between the two countries.

On the occasion of the New Year, the President congratulated the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament and the delegation; and sent greetings and New Year wishes to President Rumen Radev.

The President expressed his pleasure at seeing that the two countries regularly maintain contact and exchange delegations at all levels, especially at the high level. Most recently, this included the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Bulgaria in September 2023.

The President expressed confidence that this visit to Vietnam by the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament would create momentum to promote the traditional Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship; and at the same time, it would be an important milestone marking the beginning of many events that the two countries will organize to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950-2025), thereby further promoting the relationship between the two countries to a new level.

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov happily informed the President of Vietnam about his very successful talks with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and emphasized that, through reciprocal high-level visits, the two countries have demonstrated the importance they place on bilateral relations. The Bulgarian Parliament Speaker expressed his desire for both sides to actively implement existing cooperation mechanisms, including the meeting of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee.

Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov stated that Bulgaria greatly admires Vietnam's development achievements over the past period; expressed appreciation for the fact that one-third of the Vietnamese National Assembly members are women; and expressed a desire to cooperate with Vietnam in all fields of trade, investment, defense, and security.

During the visit, the delegation visited several localities. Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov stated that there is still great potential for cooperation between the localities of the two countries, opening up opportunities for economic cooperation as well as promoting people-to-people exchanges; he also welcomed Vietnam sending experts to teach Vietnamese in Bulgaria.

The Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament expressed his hope that Vietnam would serve as a bridge to promote cooperation between Bulgaria and ASEAN, as well as to foster cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union.

President Vo Van Thuong receives Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov. (Source: VNA)

President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that Vietnam always values ​​its relationship with Bulgaria, remembering Bulgaria's important assistance in the past struggles for national liberation and reunification, and in the current process of national construction and development; and thanked Bulgaria for helping Vietnam train thousands of students, experts, and skilled workers in many fields.

The President highly appreciated and thanked the Bulgarian Parliament for its support of Vietnam in the ratification of agreements with the European Union, including the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement just before the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Bulgaria in September 2023, opening up opportunities for investment cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam highly appreciates Bulgaria's support for Vietnam in bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, including the cooperation mechanism between ASEAN and the EU, and thanks Bulgaria for supporting Vietnam's candidacy for membership in the Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

Looking ahead, the President expressed his desire for both sides to further strengthen political and diplomatic relations, and hoped to soon welcome the President of Bulgaria, as well as other high-ranking leaders and officials from Bulgaria, to visit Vietnam. Both sides should continue to promote more frequent exchanges between parliamentarians of the two countries; share experiences and cooperate in legislative activities; and further promote local exchanges.

Highly appreciating the Bulgarian Parliament Speaker's working visit to several localities in Vietnam, the President expressed his wish to welcome more and more Bulgarian tourist delegations to visit and travel in Vietnam.

The President requested Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament Rossen Dimitrov Jeliazkov and the Bulgarian Parliament to continue promoting favorable conditions for Vietnamese people living and working in Bulgaria; and requested Bulgaria to support and encourage the European Commission (EC) to lift the yellow card (IUU) against Vietnamese seafood products as soon as possible.

The President also proposed that the two sides continue to cooperate and share visions on regional and international issues; requested the Bulgarian Parliament to support the stance of Vietnam and ASEAN in resolving disputes through peaceful means based on adherence to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight; contributing to and promoting the full, serious, and good-faith implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC); and negotiating and developing a substantive, effective, and internationally compliant Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

During the meeting, the two leaders agreed to instruct relevant agencies of both countries to promote bilateral cooperation activities, aiming to organize many important and practical events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2025.

(according to VNA)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chu-tich-nuoc-vo-van-thuong-dau-moc-quan-trong-khoi-dau-dua-quan-he-voi-bulgaria-len-tam-cao-moi-256625.html