Vietnam - Bulgaria opens up a wider and more substantial space for cooperation in the new era

The visit, which took place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950 - 2025), created a historic mark, officially bringing the bilateral relationship to a new height: Strategic Partnership. This is an important turning point, not only consolidating the long-standing traditional friendship but also opening up wider and more substantive cooperation spaces in the new era.

Photo caption — President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and his wife hosted the welcoming ceremony for General Secretary To Lam and his wife on an official visit to Bulgaria. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

The 75-year history of Vietnam-Bulgaria relations has shown that when two peoples share humanistic values, stand side by side in challenging times and look to the future with aspirations for development, that is the solid foundation for a lasting, strong and increasingly sublime relationship.

Delivering a policy speech at Sofia University, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that the two countries are proud of their glorious past, when Bulgarian friends and comrades accompanied the Vietnamese people on construction sites, in classrooms, in hospitals and in national construction projects.

Vietnam and Bulgaria cherish the present, when both countries together overcome the challenges of the times, together promote comprehensive cooperation and together spread the values of peace, cooperation and development. And above all, the two sides believe in the future, when the Vietnam - Bulgaria Strategic Partnership is a model of sincere, effective and long-lasting international friendship in the 21st century.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1950, Vietnam and Bulgaria have built and developed a traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation on the basis of trust, equality, mutual respect, for the benefit of the people of the two countries. Thousands of Vietnamese officials and students have studied and researched in Bulgaria, becoming a bridge between the people and an important factor in the future development of the country.

The visit carries a message of sincere affection and respect of the Party, State and people of Vietnam for traditional partners and friends who have provided valuable support and contributions to the past struggle to protect the Fatherland and the present cause of national construction and development.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, General Secretary To Lam's visit to Bulgaria 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 great potential for cooperation between the two countries.

Bulgarian journalist and writer Kadrinka Kadrinova said that over the past 75 years, the bilateral relationship between the two countries has a long history, built on the foundation of effective cooperation and mutual trust. This relationship is also nurtured by warm friendship and deep attachment - a valuable asset of both peoples; at the same time, there is still great untapped potential to continue to consolidate, expand and deepen in the current international context.

The official upgrading of Vietnam-Bulgaria Strategic Partnership paves the way for future cooperation areas. In particular, science and technology, along with education and training, are identified as one of the key pillars, bringing practical and sustainable results to both countries in the digital age.

The Vietnam-Bulgaria Joint Statement stated that the two sides identified science and technology as a priority pillar of cooperation, capable of creating high value and making practical contributions to the socio-economic development process and growth model transformation in both countries.

Based on the 1998 Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote the early organization of the 5th Meeting of the Science and Technology Cooperation Committee, focusing on areas where both sides have potential, strengths and cooperation needs such as training of information technology 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... identified as strategic priority orientations for the 2030-2045 period.

Regarding education and training, the two sides pledged to effectively implement the Framework Agreement on Scholarship Exchange between the two countries, first of all the Education Cooperation Program for the period 2025-2028, and encourage the granting of scholarships to students of each side according to their needs and fields of study. The two sides agreed to promote comprehensive and continuous cooperation, build mechanisms for the exchange of experts, lecturers and students of the two countries, not only academic exchanges for students and lecturers but also expanding to the training of highly qualified experts; promote the opening of Vietnamese and Bulgarian language classes at training institutions of both sides.

It is clear that cooperation in education and science continues to be a bright spot. Every year, the two sides maintain student and researcher exchanges 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 exchanges.

Vietnam and Bulgaria have many natural complementarities. Vietnam has a stable investment environment, a young and dynamic workforce, a large market, and a deep integration policy. On the other hand, Bulgaria has strengths in science and technology, clean agriculture, pharmaceuticals, education, renewable energy, and European logistics.

During the visit, the two sides exchanged many cooperation documents: Letter of Intent on enhancing defense cooperation between the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam and the Ministry of National Defense of Bulgaria; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria in the field of cyber security and prevention and combat of cybercrime and high-tech crime; Diplomatic note on supplementing and amending the Appendix to the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Bulgaria on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports;

Memorandum of Understanding on digital cooperation between the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and the Ministry of E-Government of the Republic of Bulgaria; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Bulgaria on cooperation in the field of labor and social policy; Cooperation plan for the period 2027-2029 between the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Memorandum of Understanding on friendly cooperation between Phu Tho province (Vietnam) and Pernik province (Bulgaria).

For Vietnam, 2025 is not only a year of "acceleration and breakthrough" to complete the development goals of the 2021-2025 period, but also plays a pivotal role, creating an important foundation and strong driving force to successfully implement the two 100-year goals and bring the country into a new era - an era of rising up, developing richly, civilized and prosperous for the nation. With that spirit, Vietnam is continuing to perfect its institutions, improve the investment and business environment, remove "bottlenecks" to unlock resources, promote economic restructuring associated with growth model innovation, taking science and technology, innovation and Vietnamese cultural values as the core driving force for development.

During high-level and all-level meetings, Bulgarian leaders expressed their affection and appreciation for the traditional historical relationship and expressed admiration for Vietnam's achievements in socio-economic development and international integration, and were ready to act as a bridge to promote extensive cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) countries and the Balkans region.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev affirmed that Bulgaria always values the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, and wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnam to contribute to sustainable development in each country as well as prosperity on the two continents.

Vietnam is in the process of building and implementing major development orientations for the country. General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria continues to clearly demonstrate the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, proactiveness, active and comprehensive international integration, and is also an important foreign activity to promote the implementation of Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW of the Politburo on international integration in the new situation.

With the traditional foundation and the highest political determination from the leaders of the two countries, the Vietnam - Bulgaria relationship will increasingly deepen and become more substantial, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries, actively contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the two regions and the world.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-bulgaria-mo-ra-khong-gian-hop-tac-rong-lon-thuc-chat-hon-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-20251025172142844.htm