NA Chairman busy with meetings in Bulgaria
Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) Chairman
Vuong Dinh Hue had meetings with the Chairman of the Bulgaria-Vietnam
Friendship Association, several Vietnamese Ambassadors to European countries, and representatives of Vietnamese communities in Europe in Sofia on September 24 (local time) as
part of his ongoing visit to Bulgaria.
Talking to Chairman of the Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Association Simeon Dimchev, the NA Chairman highlighted the close friendship and all-round cooperation
between the two countries over the past 73 years, and underlined
that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and hopes to further promote
ties with Bulgaria.
Hailing the positive contributions that mass organisations of the two countries, including the Vietnam-Bulgaria and
Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Associations, have made to the friendship and partnership between the two countries over the past 73 years,
the top legislator said that people-to-people exchange is an important
diplomatic channel in promoting friendship between the two states and peoples.
He held that the 30,000-strong Vietnamese community in Bulgaria is a bridge for the friendship between the two nations.
Dimchev briefed the Vietnamese NA leader on
major activities of the association, including those to introduce the culture,
land and people of Vietnam in Bulgaria.
The same day, NA Chairman Hue had a meeting with Vietnamese
ambassadors to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and
Turkey.
NA Chairman Hue stressed that Europe is an important partner of Vietnam,
expressing his hope that the ambassadors will show strong performance in
implementing the Party’s policy regarding multilateral external relations and
Vietnamese citizen abroad, and in mobilising resources for national
development.
Particularly, the NA leader asked the diplomats to pay
special attention to economic diplomacy, pushing for the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create favourable
conditions for investment activities with Vietnam.
Along with strengthening the protection of Vietnamese
citizens in the European countries, the diplomat should support them in
fostering solidarity and making contributions to the protection and
construction of the Fatherland, he said.
Earlier, the Vietnamese top legislator visited
Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in the capital city of Sofia.
Also on September 24, NA Chairman Hue had a meeting with the
Vietnamese communities in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Czech Redpublic and Slovakia.
Noting that the Vietnam-Bulgaria partnership in
politics-diplomacy has been fruitful, but bilateral trade and investment cooperation
has remained modest, the NA leader said that his visit will focus on beefing up
trade and investment ties between the two countries and boosting
locality-to-locality cooperation.
He briefed the community on the situation at home andaffirmed the Party and State’s consistent
policy of considering the Vietnamese community abroad as an inseparable part
and great resources of the Vietnamese nation.
He expressed his delight as Slovakia has become the second
country after the Czech Republic to recognise the Vietnamese community as an
ethnic minority group.
He said he hopes the Vietnamese community abroad will
continue to promote solidarity and mutual support, maintain and develop the mother tongue and cultural identity, and making more contributions to the
national development.
The NA leader affirmed that the Party and State are working
hard to complete policies and laws regarding overseas Vietnamese in order to
better ensure their legitimate rights and interest.
On the occasion, NA Chairman Hue witnessed the launch of an
education promotion fund by the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria and cut the
ribbon to inaugurate the Fatherland Garden – a venue for exhibition of
Vietnamese products./.