Journey of 75 years of Vietnam-Bulgaria friendship: Strengthening trust, elevating cooperation

Ahead of the historic official visit of General Secretary To Lam to the Republic of Bulgaria, VNA correspondent in Central Europe had an interview with Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Minh Nguyet about the messages and expectations from this visit.

Here is the interview content:

- Could the Ambassador tell us what the official visit to Bulgaria by General Secretary To Lam is significant and in what context it takes place?

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Nguyet: General Secretary To Lam's official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria is of historical significance and is especially anticipated by the people of the two countries.

This is the first time the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam has visited Bulgaria in 50 years, marking a new step of development in the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria.

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950-2025), a loyal, trustworthy relationship that has been tested and nurtured over many decades, from the years of fighting for national independence to the cause of national construction and development.

This is also the fourth high-level delegation exchange in the past three years, demonstrating the good political relationship and strategic trust between the two sides' leaders.

In addition, the visit took place in the context of Vietnam and Bulgaria both achieving many outstanding achievements in socio-economic development and regional and international integration.

With the determination to innovate and integrate deeply, Vietnam is implementing the Central Committee's strategic resolutions, promoting institutional reform and streamlining the apparatus.

Just a few days after the visit, Vietnam continued to make its mark by hosting the signing ceremony of the United Nations' "Hanoi Convention" on combating cybercrime - a clear demonstration of the country's growing position and prestige in the international arena.

Bulgaria has joined the Schengen Free Travel Area after 13 years of efforts, is preparing to join the Eurozone from January 1, 2026 and is actively moving towards membership of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Bulgaria expressed its desire to further promote relations with Vietnam. In that context, General Secretary To Lam's visit is a symbol of political trust, loyal attachment and common aspiration of the two peoples, creating new momentum to elevate Vietnam-Bulgaria relations to a new height, worthy of the 75-year tradition of friendship and the great potential for cooperation between the two countries in two important geostrategic positions in Southeast Asia and Southeast Europe.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Minh Nguyet takes a souvenir photo with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. (Source: Embassy provided/VNA)

- Dear Ambassador, how has the Vietnam-Bulgaria friendship been formed and strengthened over the past 75 years?

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Nguyet: Vietnam and Bulgaria established diplomatic relations on February 8, 1950 in the context of Vietnam facing many difficulties in the struggle for national independence.

The fact that Bulgaria was one of the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam demonstrates the pure international solidarity and valuable support of the Bulgarian people for Vietnam's cause of national liberation.

As early as 1957, President Ho Chi Minh set foot in Bulgaria, demonstrating the close and trusting relationship between the two peoples.

Over the past 75 years, the relationship between the two countries has always maintained stability, trust and grown deeper, based on historical and political foundations and the close affection between the two peoples.

An important testament to this strong relationship is the more than 30,000 Vietnamese who have lived, studied and worked in Bulgaria in the past decades. They have contributed to the development of both Bulgaria and Vietnam. These are living witnesses, contributing to marking the friendly relationship between the two countries.

Continuing that tradition, the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria today, although not large in number, is always united, hardworking and attached to its homeland, at the same time playing the role of a bridge of friendship, maintaining Vietnamese culture and contributing to strengthening the good relationship between the people of the two countries.

- Could the Ambassador review the outstanding cooperation results between Vietnam and Bulgaria in recent times?

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Nguyet: In recent years, in the context of many fluctuations in the world, the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship has maintained a positive development momentum, with many delegation exchanges, high-level contacts and practical cooperation initiatives.

In addition to regularly exchanging high-level delegations, in May 2024, the two countries successfully organized the 24th Meeting of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade, scientific and technological cooperation in Sofia.

During the meeting, the two sides comprehensively reviewed the cooperation process and identified new priority areas such as digital economy, information technology, innovation, biomedicine, green transformation, training and supply of high-quality human resources.

In the economic and trade field, the two sides have actively implemented cooperation programs within the framework of the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thereby expanding market access opportunities and diversifying supply chains for businesses of the two countries.

In 2024, bilateral trade turnover increased by nearly 30% over the previous year, reflecting a positive recovery and growth trend.

In the first nine months of this year, exports of many of Vietnam's key products to Bulgaria continued to maintain impressive growth, especially in agricultural products, textiles and light industry.

In the investment sector, the Bulgarian National Assembly ratified the Vietnam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) from September 2023, creating a more favorable legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

Bulgarian businesses are increasingly interested in the Vietnamese market in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, renewable energy, agricultural processing and logistics.

In contrast, Vietnamese enterprises consider Bulgaria a "gateway" to the European Union (EU) market, thanks to its strategic geographical location, developed transport infrastructure and strongly improved business environment.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev visits VinFast auto factory. (Photo: Hoang Ngoc/VNA)

Bulgaria is also considered a potential location with reasonable production costs, suitable for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in the production of processed agricultural products, textiles, and footwear, thereby expanding their presence in the European market.

Labor cooperation is emerging as a new and promising direction. Faced with Bulgaria’s labor shortage, more and more Vietnamese workers are coming to work in the fields of construction, mechanics, food processing, health care, etc.

Vietnamese labor force is highly appreciated for its skills, discipline and sense of responsibility, leaving a good impression in Bulgarian society. Both sides wish to establish a new cooperation mechanism on labor, aiming at sustainable, humane and mutually beneficial cooperation, while strengthening the connection between the two peoples.

Educational and scientific cooperation continues to be a bright spot. Every year, the two sides maintain student and postgraduate exchange under the Education Cooperation Agreement between the two governments. Many universities and research institutes have signed academic and research cooperation agreements.

In the 2025-2026 school year, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training will send Vietnamese language lecturers to teach at Sofia University for the first time, marking a new development in academic and language exchange.

Cultural cooperation, tourism and people-to-people exchanges continue to be strongly promoted. The Vietnam-Bulgaria and Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Associations regularly coordinate to organize photo exhibitions, friendship exchanges, film screenings and events promoting Vietnamese culture and cuisine in Bulgaria, contributing to strengthening the relationship and enhancing understanding between the two peoples.

The Vietnamese community in Bulgaria promotes its role as a bridge of friendship and actively participates in local social and cultural activities.

After Vietnam decided to exempt visas for Bulgarian citizens from August 2025, tourism businesses of the two countries have promoted cooperation in connecting tours, especially towards cultural, heritage and beach resort tourism.

In addition, the two sides are studying the possibility of cooperation in the fields of sports and creative culture, taking advantage of Bulgaria's strengths in gymnastics, classical music and theatre arts.

Local cooperation has also been vibrant. Localities of the two countries have proactively sought opportunities for twinning and development cooperation, contributing to deepening bilateral cooperation. These comprehensive results show that the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship is entering a more dynamic, substantial and comprehensive development phase, based on the foundation of traditional friendship, political trust and strong attachment between the people of the two countries.

- Could you please tell us how political trust between the two countries is demonstrated and what role does it play in the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship?

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Nguyet: One of the important factors helping the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship to continuously develop is the high level of political trust. Vietnam considers Bulgaria a reliable traditional partner, playing the role of a bridge between Vietnam and the EU.

For their part, Bulgarian leaders always affirm that Vietnam is a top priority partner in the Southeast Asian region, and at the same time support Vietnam in strengthening comprehensive relations with the EU.

The two countries regularly maintain high-level delegation exchanges and contacts, as well as closely coordinate and support each other at regional and international forums, demonstrating understanding, shared interests and views on many international issues of common concern.

The leaders of the two countries share many similarities in their development visions, aiming for peace, cooperation, integration and sustainable development, on the basis of respecting international law, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country.

The two sides reaffirmed their support for multilateralism and the rules-based international order, with the United Nations playing a central role; emphasized full respect and compliance with international law, peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United Nations Charter, and non-threat or use of force.

On the basis of solid political trust, the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship is opening up many new areas for cooperation in the context of the world changing strongly due to global trends.

- Could the Ambassador tell us about the directions and prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria in the coming time?

Ambassador Nguyen Minh Nguyet: The two countries have many favorable conditions to promote comprehensive cooperation and promote complementary strengths.

Potential areas include green transformation and digitalization, leveraging Bulgaria's technology and innovation combined with Vietnam's production capacity; education, science and technology, promoting joint research in smart agriculture, biomedicine, clean energy; tourism and people-to-people exchange, aiming to open direct flights, enhancing the promotion of the two countries' images; local and business cooperation, organizing annual economic and trade forums, promoting substantive connections.

General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria this time demonstrates the two countries' strong political determination to bring the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship to a new height, for peace, prosperity and sustainable development of each country and the two peoples./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hanh-trinh-75-nam-huu-nghi-viet-nam-bulgaria-cung-co-niem-tin-nang-tam-hop-tac-post1071711.vnp