Bulgarian NA Speaker calls on young Vietnamese to seize chances to develop bilateral ties

Hanoi (VNA) – Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly (NA) Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov on January 9 called on students of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) and young people in general as future politicians, managers, and scientists to grasp the world’s opportunities to continue developing relations between the two countries.

He made the call while visiting and delivering a policy speech at the VNU, part of his official visit to Vietnam.

In his remarks, Jeliazkov noted that Bulgaria provided educational assistance for thousands of Vietnamese students during post-war years of reconstruction. More than 35,000 Vietnamese citizens have studied and worked in his country, he said, describing them as a bridge helping the two countries become closer.

Bulgaria was one of the first countries in the world to recognise Vietnam’s independence. In 2025, the two countries will celebrate the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, he noted, saying Bulgaria and Vietnam are important factors for ensuring stability in each region, maintaining constructive ties with neighbouring countries, and actively participating in different forms of regional cooperation.

In today’s world, Bulgaria and Vietnam are becoming closer to each other. The two are located in different continents but connected with each other in historical, physical, and digital terms. Both are jointly engaging in the climate change fight, ensuring supply chain sustainability, surmounting mixed threats, and developing technology and artificial intelligence.

They are promoting positive political dialogue at the highest level and expressing the shared wish to elevate bilateral ties, according to the visiting leader.

In recent years, Vietnam has sustained high and impressive economic growth in a region with highly dynamic development in Southeast Asia. Bulgaria has continued to strongly support the EU’s relations with such priority partners as Vietnam on the basis of their traditional friendship, practicality and trust, and Bulgaria's benefits from the EU membership, the ASEAN membership of Vietnam, and Vietnam’s growing role in Southeast Asia, Jeliazkov went on.

He held that with the signing of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), new opportunities are being opened up for bilateral relations. These two deals set the EU and Vietnam’s ambitious trade targets based on common commitments to trade liberalisation and open, equal, and rules-based integration.

For many years, the two countries have struggled for many important national targets. Their young people nowadays have a big mission of building a better world, he remarked.

He expressed his belief that education, knowledge, and innovation will be the topics of future meetings between young Bulgarians and Vietnamese, forming the start of new friendships that help to tighten bilateral ties.

VNU Director Prof. Dr. Le Quan said the VNU is one of the leading universities in Vietnam. Comprised of many colleges, research institutes, and service supplying centres, it serves as a core institution in Vietnam’s educational system. The university has obtained a number of achievements in different areas and secured high positions in international university rankings.

The VNU and its member schools have established cooperative ties with more than 300 universities, research institutes, and educational organisations in the world, including those of Bulgaria, he continued, noting that many generations of VNU students have been learning in the European country.

Also on January 9, Speaker Jeliazkov visited the Vietnam - Bulgaria high-quality kindergarten in Hai Ba Trung district of Hanoi. The school was established in 1981 as a gift from the Bulgarian women’s union to Vietnamese children./.