National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) presents a gift to Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov. (Photo: VNA) Vietnam has paid due regard to multifaceted cooperation with countries in Central and Eastern Europe, with Bulgaria being its top priority partner. Last September, NA Chairman Hue paid an official visit to the country, and received the hearty welcome from Bulgarian leaders. During the visit, the two top legislators signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two parliaments.
Over the past time, the bilateral parliamentary cooperation has been consolidated and developed robustly, with regular exchanges of high-ranking delegations, including the official visit to Bulgaria in 2007 by NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, and the visits to Vietnam by Speakers of the Bulgarian NA in 2004 and 2012.
The two parliaments have maintained contact, coordination and support for each other at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Do Hoang Long, Rosen’s trip marks the first by a high-ranking Bulgarian leader to Vietnam over a decade, following the visit by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in October 2013. Particularly, it is a reciprocal visit following the official trip to the European country by NA Chairman Hue in September last year.
This is a vivid illustration for the appreciation and sentiment that the Bulgarian State and people always extend to Vietnam as a traditional, reliable and loyal friend, and one of the most important partners in Southeast Asia, he said, highlighting the trip will open up new opportunities to bolster collaboration both bilaterally and multilaterally, towards the celebrations of the 75th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Bulgaria diplomatic relations (February 8, 1950-2025).
With the above significance, the visit will focus on further nurturing the already robust political relations between the two countries through the Party, State, Government and people-to-people channels. On the other hand, it will present an opportunity for both sides to engage in discussions on global and regional issues of mutual concern; intensify substantial and effective bilateral ties, particularly in areas of their strengths such as trade-investment, education, health care, culture, tourism, labour, and locality-to-locality cooperation.
Through a busy agenda between the Bulgarian delegation and Vietnamese high-ranking leaders, ministries and agencies, he said, the Vietnamese side will affirm its consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of ties for peace, cooperation and development. It will also convey a message that Vietnam is a reliable and responsible partner in the international community, and seeks continued invaluable support from the European country on issues of shared interest, he added./.
VNA
