Sofia (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam attended a Vietnam - Bulgaria Business Forum on October 23 afternoon (local time) in Sofia as part of his going official visit to the European country.
The event, jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria, and the Ministry of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria, was also attended by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. It brought together a large number of representatives of businesses from both countries.
In his opening remarks, President Radev laid stress on the time-honoured friendship between the two countries, describing the forum as an important event as the Vietnam and Bulgaria cooperative and friendly ties enter a new stage of more comprehensive, practical, and effective development.
Over the years, Bulgaria has trained more than 30,000 Vietnamese specialists, students, and researchers, many of whom now hold key positions in the government and the fields of economy, science and culture and have contributed significantly to the friendship between the two nations, he said.
President Radev noted that during General Secretary Lam’s official visit, the two sides adopted a joint statement on elevating the bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership, laying a solid foundation for bolstering two-way trade. He expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s achievements in national renewal, construction and development, saying Vietnam has maintained stability and dynamic growth, becoming a bright spot in the global economy.
Bulgaria has become a regional hub for innovation, high technology, and AI as well as producing high-value technological products, he said, encouraging both sides to create favourable conditions for their enterprises to land investment in each country.
He suggested collaboration in the domains where Bulgaria has strengths such as science – technology, clean agriculture, pharmaceuticals, education, renewable energy, and logistics. Besides, the Bulgarian leader also expressed his hope for continued collaboration in education – training and labour. General Secretary Lam highlighted the significance of President Radev’s presence at the forum, saying that this signals a commitment to creating favourable conditions for bilateral business and investment cooperation.
The Vietnamese Party leader noted the world is experiencing complicated and unpredictable upheavals, not only in geopolitics but also in economy and trade, creating both opportunities and challenges. He stressed that these global economic difficulties make it even more important for the two countries to cooperate in generating substantial value to meet each nation’s development demands, with economic, trade, and investment cooperation serving as key pillars.
General Secretary Lam said that Bulgaria’s development is driven by advances in science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation, which boost labour productivity. He called on the two sides to strengthen cooperation in science and technology, digital transformation, defence and security, defence industry, and human resources development.
The top leader affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State are committed to accompanying, listening to, and sharing with international friends and partners. He also expressed his hope for continued close support and cooperation from foreign investors, particularly Bulgarian investors, in Vietnam’s national construction and development process.
At the event, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of several cooperation agreements, including an arbitration cooperation agreement between the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre and the Arbitration Court at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI); a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in education and academic exchange between the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the University of Economics Varna; a comprehensive international cooperation agreement between Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and Sofia University in AI, machine learning, and computer science; a cooperation agreement in space technology between the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) and EnduroSat EAD; and an information technology and digital transformation cooperation agreement between Tri Nam Group and Software Group./.
