Strategic ties between Vietnam and Bulgaria

During his official visit to Bulgaria, on the afternoon of October 24 (local time) in the capital Sofia, General Secretary To Lam had meetings with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Chairwoman of the Bulgarian National Assembly Natalia Kiselova.

Need to effectively utilize EVFTA

In particular, happily welcoming General Secretary To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov welcomed and highly appreciated the significance of General Secretary To Lam's first visit to Bulgaria, which contributed significantly to promoting the relationship between the two countries.

On the basis of the newly established cooperation framework, the two leaders agreed to enhance political trust, promote delegation exchanges, high-level contacts through Party, State, Government, National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchanges; strengthen the coordinating role of the two countries' Foreign Ministries in promoting bilateral cooperation; coordinate in implementing the contents of the Strategic Partnership and effectively promote existing mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Committee, the Science and Technology Cooperation Committee, and at the same time study and establish new mechanisms suitable for the current Strategic Partnership...

General Secretary To Lam meets with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov

PHOTO: VNA

In the fields of economics, trade and investment, the two sides agreed to consider this as the main driving force of the relationship, emphasizing that both countries need to effectively utilize the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and coordinate to ensure sustainable supply chains, logistics connectivity through seaports, aiming to double bilateral trade turnover in the coming years. The two sides expressed their delight at the good results achieved at the Vietnam - Bulgaria Business Forum. The General Secretary affirmed that Vietnam is ready to facilitate Bulgarian goods to access the domestic market and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), hoping that Bulgaria will become a "gateway" for Vietnamese goods to enter the EU market, reduce trade barriers and support Vietnamese enterprises to invest in Bulgaria.

On this occasion, General Secretary To Lam also proposed further expanding cooperation in traditional fields such as education - training, culture - tourism, health, labor, agriculture, including urging the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the "Yellow Card" for Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU market; and suggested that the two sides promote the early signing of a cooperation agreement between the two governments in the health sector.

At noon on October 24 local time, General Secretary To Lam visited and delivered a policy speech at Sofia University with the theme: "The journey of 75 years of friendship across Asia and Europe between Vietnam and Bulgaria to Strategic Partnership in the new era". Attending were the school's leaders, professors, lecturers and a large number of students.

On the afternoon of October 24, local time (evening of the same day, Hanoi time), General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, left the capital Sofia, successfully concluding the official visit to Bulgaria from October 22-24 at the invitation of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

The two leaders also shared the view that in addition to traditional fields, bilateral cooperation still has much room for development, especially in areas of mutual interest such as digital transformation, digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security, e-government, etc. and emphasized their commitment to making scientific and technological cooperation an important pillar in the Vietnam - Bulgaria Strategic Partnership.

On the multilateral front, the two sides affirmed to closely coordinate and support each other at international forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations and ASEAN - EU.

Parliamentary cooperation is an important pillar

During his meeting with Bulgarian National Assembly Chairwoman Natalia Kiselova, General Secretary To Lam sincerely thanked Bulgaria for its wholehearted assistance to the Vietnamese people in their past struggle for independence and national reunification and in their current national development.

National Assembly Chairwoman Natalia Kiselova emphasized that the new stature of the relationship reflects the strong development and strategic connection between Vietnam and Bulgaria, which is of great significance at a time when both countries are entering a new stage of development and in the context of many fluctuations in the world situation.

At the meeting, the two leaders emphasized that parliamentary cooperation is an important pillar in the strategic partnership between the two countries. The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in the coming time, including increasing contacts and exchanges of high-level delegations and between the National Assembly Committees of the two countries to exchange information and experiences, creating a favorable framework to promote cooperation in areas with much room, suitable to the development needs of the two countries such as science and technology, especially information technology, pharmaceuticals, high-tech agricultural products, etc.

General Secretary To Lam proposed that the two sides should continue to strengthen coordination at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums (Inter-Parliamentary Union - IPU, Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership - ASEP, Francophone Parliamentary Assembly - APF) to contribute to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world. Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote relations between the Bulgarian National Assembly and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/gan-ket-chien-luoc-giua-viet-nam-va-bulgaria-185251024233357032.htm