Vietnam and Bulgaria establish strategic partnership

Within the framework of the official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria, at noon on October 23 (local time), at the Presidential Palace, Sofia, General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev chaired a press conference to announce the results of the talks.

General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev chaired a press conference to announce the results of the talks. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

Informing a large number of press agencies of the two countries, President Rumen Radev said that the two countries have achieved an important new step in bilateral relations through the agreement to upgrade the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. This is the result of the efforts of the two countries over many decades and this year the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. For Bulgaria, Vietnam is not only a priority partner in the Southeast Asia region but also a country with traditional cooperation and mutual respect.

President Rumen Radev affirmed that he and General Secretary To Lam reviewed the cooperative relationship between the two countries, shared satisfaction with the results achieved, which is a good foundation for the relationship between the two countries in the coming time. The two sides also discussed strengthening economic and trade relations with great potential that the two countries need to take advantage of. Currently, in Bulgaria, there are more than 30,000 Vietnamese people living, studying and working, becoming a sustainable bridge for the relationship between the two countries.

General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev meet the press. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

Sharing his good memories of his visit to Vietnam last year, President Rumen Radev expressed his impression of Vietnam's development achievements, the policies and reforms that Vietnam has implemented over the decades, bringing about remarkable economic growth. Bulgaria wishes to further develop relations with Vietnam in traditional fields such as education and training, science and technology, agriculture, culture and sports, tourism, people-to-people exchange and new fields. The President also said that the two countries have great potential to develop cooperation in the fields of security and defense industry, based on the tradition of training cooperation in the defense sector.

Welcoming Vietnam's active and proactive foreign policy, which has created Vietnam's position in maintaining peace and stability in the region, President Rumen Radev affirmed that this visit will open up new opportunities and new visions for the relationship between the two countries, thereby deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Speaking to the press, General Secretary To Lam thanked the President and the Bulgarian people for the warm and cordial welcome given to the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. The visit took place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with a determination to bring the cooperative relationship between the two countries into a new stage of development.

General Secretary To Lam and President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev meet the press. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

The General Secretary said that the two sides had a very successful meeting, jointly reassessed the situation of cooperation between the two countries, agreed on major orientations to expand and deepen traditional areas of cooperation, and identified new areas of cooperation in which the two countries have potential and need. The two sides also had in-depth discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern. With firm confidence in the bright future of bilateral relations, Vietnam and Bulgaria adopted a Joint Statement on the establishment of a Strategic Partnership. This is an important milestone that creates a foundation to bring bilateral relations to a new level, for the benefit of the two peoples, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

General Secretary To Lam affirmed that, in order to realize the content of the Joint Statement, the two sides have discussed and agreed on groups of solutions. That is to strengthen political trust through continuing to promote delegation exchanges and high-level contacts on all channels of the Party, State, National Assembly and people-to-people exchanges; including within the bilateral as well as multilateral framework. The two sides will promote cooperation in the field of defense and security; agreed to promote cooperation in training, academic exchanges between defense academies and research facilities, cooperation in the field of United Nations peacekeeping, cyber security, military medicine, and cooperation in the defense industry.

In the context of the world economy facing many great challenges, the two countries agreed to cooperate closely, making economic, trade and investment cooperation the central pillar in the strategic partnership between the two countries. Close coordination aims to maintain and strengthen free trade, strongly promote trade and investment through opening markets to each other, ready to be the gateway for goods from Vietnam and Bulgaria to penetrate the ASEAN market as well as the EU market.

In the context of the world economy facing many enormous challenges, the two countries agreed to cooperate closely, making economic, trade and investment cooperation a central pillar in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam and Bulgaria agreed to make science and technology cooperation a new important pillar in the bilateral cooperation, expanding areas of cooperation in which both sides have strengths; agreed to promote cooperation in training high-quality human resources, building programs, cultural activities, tourism, exhibitions, and music exchanges to enhance understanding and exchange between the two peoples. The two countries also increased the exchange of views on issues of mutual concern, promoted cooperation in resolving traditional and non-traditional security issues, closely coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums.

The General Secretary affirmed his belief that the establishment of the Vietnam-Bulgaria strategic partnership will open a new era of cooperation for the two countries, for the development goals of each country and for peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

HANH NGUYEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-va-bulgaria-thiet-lap-quan-he-doi-tac-chien-luoc-post917544.html