Vietnam - Bulgaria: Strengthening political trust and mutual understanding as the foundation for promoting bilateral cooperation

At the invitation ofPresident Luong Cuong, President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of the Bulgarian State, paid an official visit to Vietnam from November 24 to 28, 2024.

President Luong Cuong and President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev.

On the morning of November 25, at the Presidential Palace, after a solemn official welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong held talks with President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev.

At the talks, on behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Luong Cuong welcomed President Rumen Radev, his wife and the high-ranking delegation of the Bulgarian State on an official visit to Vietnam, emphasizing that President Rumen Radev's visit before the two countries prepare to celebrate the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in 2025 is an important event, elevating and contributing to bringing the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria to increasingly deepen, become more substantial and effective.

The President affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen cooperation with Bulgaria, Vietnam’s priority partner in the Central and Eastern European region; and sincerely thanks Bulgaria for its valuable support and assistance to Vietnam in the past struggle for national liberation as well as in the current national construction and development.

President Rumen Radev expressed his pleasure in visiting Vietnam for the first time; sincerely thanked President Luong Cuong for the invitation and the warm, respectful and thoughtful reception for the delegation, considering this a testament to the long-term trust between the two countries. At the same time, he expressed his interest, admiration and congratulations on the great achievements that Vietnam has made in the cause of Renovation, national development as well as international integration; believing that with its economic development achievements and increasingly high political position, Vietnam is an important factor in the Southeast Asian region.

In an atmosphere of sincerity, trust and openness, the two sides had in-depth discussions on major orientations and specific measures to strengthen cooperation and elevate relations in the coming time.

In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides agreed to continue to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, through all channels of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and people-to-people exchanges to further consolidate political trust and mutual understanding, creating a foundation for expanding bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Regarding trade and investment, the two leaders affirmed that this is an important pillar in bilateral relations; agreed to further promote existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation; encouraged ministries, branches, localities and enterprises of the two countries to continue to effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); agreed to strengthen investment cooperation in Bulgaria's strong fields such as information technology, supporting industries, etc. President Rumen Radev said that trade and investment is also one of the main purposes of the visit, accompanying the delegation are many large Bulgarian enterprises and hopes to have specific steps forward in the coming time.

On this occasion, President Luong Cuong thanked Bulgaria, one of the first EU member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); asked Bulgaria to speak out to urge the remaining EU countries to soon ratify the EVIPA, and support the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU “yellow card” on Vietnamese seafood exports.

President Rumen Radev affirmed that Bulgaria, with its important geographical position, is ready to act as a bridge for Vietnam to enter the EU market. Agreeing with the proposal of President Luong Cuong, President Rumen Radev affirmed that the two countries need to promote effective cooperation in traditional areas such as defense - security, education - training, science - technology, agriculture, culture - sports, tourism, people-to-people exchange, while promoting the expansion of cooperation in new areas such as digital transformation, information technology, mineral processing, environment, etc.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation and people-to-people exchange to create cohesion and mutual understanding between the two countries; facilitate the issuance of entry visas for citizens of the two countries; and further promote cooperation between localities through trade, investment and tourism promotion activities.

On this occasion, President Luong Cuong thanked and requested Bulgarian authorities at all levels to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community living in Bulgaria to integrate more deeply into the host society, making positive contributions to the development of Bulgaria as well as the traditional friendship between the two countries.

The leaders affirmed that the two countries will continue to coordinate closely, share experiences and support each other at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations, within the ASEAN-EU framework, contributing to jointly solving global challenges.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed that disputes and conflicts in the world need to be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the regions and the world, for global cooperation and prosperity.

On this occasion, President Rumen Radev respectfully invited President Luong Cuong to visit Bulgaria soon, and President Luong Cuong happily accepted.

After the talks, President Luong Cuong and President Rumen Radev witnessed the handover ceremony of a number of cooperation documents between the two countries in the fields of education, economy - trade and local cooperation.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/viet-nam-bulgaria-cung-co-tin-cay-chinh-tri-hieu-biet-lan-nhau-lam-nen-tang-thuc-day-hop-tac-song-phuong-10295241.html