Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev met with Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan in Sofia on December 4, stating that Bulgaria wants to further bolster friendship and all-round cooperation with Vietnam.

He affirmed that his country views Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia and declared support for the country in relations with the European Union, as well as in the negotiations on a free trade deal with the bloc.

The President pledged to back Bulgarian investors to expand investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of energy, waste water treatment, pharmaceuticals, food processing, science-technology, and tourism.

He also called for Vietnamese investments in Bulgaria ’s seafood processing sector, noting that his country has such advantages as low land and labour cost.

For her part, Vice President Doan spoke highly of the host’s visit to Vietnam last year, as well as Prime Minister Plamen Oresasky’s visit in April 2014, saying that the visits pushed the growth of bilateral ties.

Both sides agreed that in the future, the two countries should maintain regular exchanges of delegations at all levels and coordinate closely in organising activities to celebrate 65 th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2015.

They agreed that bilateral trade and investment cooperation still remain below potential, which could be improved once the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement is signed.

They concurred that collaboration in education and training is a priority in bilateral partnership, committing to creating favourable conditions for student exchanges.

President Plevneliev highly valued contributions of the Vietnamese community to his country, describing them a positive factor in national development as well as the growth of bilateral ties.

Both host and guest agreed to enhance mutual support at regional and international forums, especially the United Nations and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEAM).-VNA