Opening a new chapter for Vietnam-Bulgaria relations

Within the framework of his official visit to Bulgaria, on the afternoon of October 24 (local time) in the capital Sofia, General Secretary To Lam had a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

Welcoming General Secretary To Lam and the high-level Vietnamese delegation, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov welcomed and highly appreciated the significance of General Secretary To Lam's first visit to Bulgaria, which makes an important contribution to promoting Vietnam-Bulgaria relations.

Congratulating Vietnam on its strong economic and social development achievements in recent years, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov affirmed that Vietnam is a leading and reliable important partner of Bulgaria in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov emphasized that the visit, with the announcement of upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, is a historic milestone in bilateral relations, thereby creating new momentum to promote the traditional friendship between the two countries to a new level.

Expressing sincere gratitude for the warm and cordial welcome from the leaders and people of Bulgaria, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that Vietnam always values the good traditional friendship with Bulgaria; emphasizing that Vietnam always remembers the valuable support of the Bulgarian people for Vietnam in the past struggle for national liberation and in the development of the country today.

General Secretary To Lam delivers a speech. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

During the meeting, General Secretary To Lam informed about the positive results of the talks with President Rumen Radev and the adoption of a Joint Declaration upgrading the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Bulgaria, opening a new chapter for bilateral relations and creating new momentum to promote the development of relations in a comprehensive, substantive, and effective manner, meeting the interests of the people of both countries.

Based on the newly established cooperation framework, the two leaders agreed to strengthen political trust, promote exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts through Party, State, Government, and Parliament channels, as well as people-to-people exchanges; enhance the coordinating role of the two countries' Ministries of Foreign Affairs in promoting bilateral cooperation; coordinate the implementation of the contents of the Strategic Partnership and effectively utilize existing mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Committee and the Committee for Science and Technology Cooperation, while also studying the establishment of new mechanisms suitable for the current Strategic Partnership...

In the economic, trade, and investment sectors, both sides agreed that these are the main drivers 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 and 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' access to the domestic market and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and hopes that Bulgaria will become a "gateway" for Vietnamese goods to the EU market, reducing trade barriers and supporting Vietnamese businesses investing in Bulgaria.

On this occasion, General Secretary To Lam also proposed further expanding cooperation in traditional areas such as education and training, culture and tourism, health, labor, and agriculture, including urging the European Commission (EC) to soon lift the "Yellow Card" on Vietnamese seafood exports to the EU market; and suggested that both sides expedite the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two governments in the field of health.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov pledged to work with the Vietnamese Government to effectively implement the contents of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

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 this occasion, General Secretary To Lam expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Bulgarian government for their attention and for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study, and work stably in Bulgaria.

General Secretary To Lam requested President Rumen Radev and Bulgarian authorities at all levels to continue facilitating the process of granting Bulgarian citizenship to eligible Vietnamese citizens, helping the Vietnamese community to integrate more deeply and make positive contributions to the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

On the multilateral level, both sides affirmed their commitment to close coordination and mutual support in international forums, particularly within the framework of the United Nations and ASEAN-EU, working together to address global challenges such as climate change, energy security, and sustainable development.

At the conclusion of the meeting, General Secretary To Lam respectfully conveyed greetings from senior Vietnamese leaders and an invitation from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to visit Vietnam.

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/mo-ra-chuong-moi-cho-quan-he-hai-nuoc-viet-nam-bulgaria-post1072512.vnp