Vietnam - Bulgaria relations turn a new page

Bulgaria - Ảnh 1. — General Secretary To Lam and his wife with President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and his wife at the Presidential Palace - Photo: VNA

The upgrading of Vietnam-Bulgaria relations to a strategic partnership took place on October 23, within the framework of General Secretary To Lam's first official visit to the land of roses.

Science and technology are important pillars

"After 75 years of establishing diplomatic relations, with firm belief in the bright future of the bilateral relationship, we have adopted a Joint Statement on establishing the Vietnam-Bulgaria Strategic Partnership," General Secretary To Lam announced at a press conference after talks with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on October 23.

The Vietnamese leader then emphasized that with the foundation of 75 years of traditional friendship and the high determination of the leaders and people of the two countries, the establishment of the Vietnam - Bulgaria Strategic Partnership will open a new era of cooperation for the two countries.

For his part, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev affirmed that with its economic development achievements and increasingly high political position, Vietnam is an important factor in the Southeast Asian region. He assessed that General Secretary To Lam's visit has opened up new opportunities and visions, deepening the bilateral cooperation relationship.

At the previous talks, the two leaders discussed and reached high consensus on 6 groups of solutions to guide the bilateral relationship in the new context, with a new stature. In terms of politics, they will continue to promote delegation exchanges and high-level contacts on all channels. Regarding defense and security cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote training cooperation and cooperation in the fields of United Nations peacekeeping, cyber security, military medicine, etc.

Notably, in the context of the world economy facing many enormous challenges, the two countries agreed to closely coordinate, making economic, trade and investment cooperation a central pillar in the Strategic Partnership.

Vietnam and Bulgaria pledged to closely coordinate to maintain and strengthen free trade as well as strongly promote trade and investment through opening markets to each other; ready to be the "gateway" for Vietnamese and Bulgarian goods to penetrate the ASEAN and EU markets.

The two sides agreed to make science and technology cooperation an important pillar in the Vietnam-Bulgaria Strategic Partnership. Accordingly, the two countries will expand cooperation in areas such as training IT human resources in the fields of digital transformation, digital economy, digital infrastructure and e-government, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, artificial intelligence (AI) and modern computer science, green energy, etc.

A multilateral foreign policy allows the country to reduce imbalances by not balancing or following trends. Instead, diverse partnerships, strong integration and flexibility allow Vietnam to increase benefits and minimize risks of damage without falling into the orbit of a larger power.

Dr. Nicholas Chapman (Tohoku University, Japan) commented in an article in the Journal of Contemporary Southeast Asian Issues.

Vietnam "remains constant, adapts to all changes"

Vietnam's upgrading of relations with Bulgaria and before that with other traditional friends and partners is a testament to the spirit of "remaining steadfast and adapting to all changes" in the context of a complex and changing world. Vietnam's constant is its independent and autonomous foreign policy, multilateralization and diversification, and being a loyal friend in international relations.

Dr. Nicholas Chapman (Tohoku University, Japan) commented that although many things have changed in the nearly 40 years since Vietnam implemented the Doi Moi process, Vietnam's core strategic interests remain unchanged. That is, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, protecting national independence and sovereignty, and enhancing Vietnam's position in the international arena.

In the context of an increasingly multipolar world, new problems and threats are emerging more and more, according to Mr. Chapman, the goal of Vietnam's foreign policy is to reduce uncertainty while benefiting from globalization.

The scholar specializing in Vietnam said that Hanoi implements a multilateral foreign policy through three key mechanisms: a network of relationships from Strategic/Comprehensive Partnership and above, trade agreements, and commitment to multilateralism.

In particular, the Strategic/Comprehensive Partnership relationship currently covers Vietnam's bilateral cooperation with key partners in many fields, thereby bringing economic, political and security benefits to the S-shaped land.

In the context of global uncertainties, according to Mr. Chapman, by cooperating with countries that share interests in minimizing the risks of conflict and trade war, Vietnam can limit the impact and stabilize the future of the economy.

Back to topic

DUY LINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-he-viet-nam-bulgaria-buoc-sang-trang-moi-20251024073722349.htm