Vietnam and Bulgaria have issued a joint statement affirming the commitments of their senior leaders to promote cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths and needs, for the benefit of the two countries’ people and for peace, stability, and sustainable development in each region and the world.

The joint statement was issued on the occasion of the official visit to Vietnam from November 24-28 by President Rumen Radev, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation of Bulgaria at the invitation of State President Luong Cuong.

Regarding political and diplomatic relations, the two sides were committed to continuing to develop mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, based on mutual respect and trust; and coordinate well to organise the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.

They agreed to continue to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, to demonstrate the leaders’ political trust and determination, and at the same time, create an important driving force to promote bilateral cooperation in many fields in line with the new situation.

The two sides emphasised the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation and support for the continued increase of meetings and cooperation through the implementation of the new Cooperation Agreement signed between the National Assemblies of Vietnam and Bulgaria in September 2023; enhancing the role of the Vietnam - Bulgaria Friendship Parliamentarian Group.

The two sides agreed to maintain regular political consultations between the two foreign ministries to exchange views on bilateral issues and stance on international and regional matters of mutual concern; and promote cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute.

Vietnam and Bulgaria pledged to strengthen coordination and mutual support at international and regional forums, especially the United Nations and the ASEAN - EU framework; support a united, strong and prosperous ASEAN community, playing a central role in the regional architecture, and enhance the ASEAN - EU Strategic Partnership.

The two sides emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety and security based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), and the principles of the United Nations.

Regarding economic and trade cooperation, the two sides agreed to enhance the effectiveness of economic and trade ties in accordance with their potential and mutual political trust. They emphasised the importance of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee for Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation as a key mechanism to promote collaboration in areas of mutual interest and benefit. Building on the results of the 24th meeting of the committee in Sofia in May 2024, both sides agreed to explore and propose areas for cooperation with concrete content and appropriate preferential mechanisms to implement specific and practical programmes and projects for the benefit of both nations.

They expressed support for further deepening the Vietnam-EU relationship based on the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, alongside the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), creating new opportunities for Bulgaria-Vietnam relations.
At the same time, they concurred to better leverage the opportunities provided by the EVFTA, encouraging closer connections and support for the business communities and localities of the two countries, while facilitating access for each other's goods to their respective markets, with a target of raising bilateral trade to 500 million USD in the near future.

The leaders agreed to promote cooperation in priority industrial sectors and investment areas that align with global development trends, including green transition, digital transformation, and electric vehicles, in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is reshaping traditional economies towards knowledge-based and innovative economies.

On defence-security cooperation, the two sides consented to strengthen defence cooperation through active defence strategic dialogues at various levels and to explore the possibility of establishing a defence consultation mechanism at the working level, while enhancing training cooperation, initially training Vietnamese military pilots at the Benkovski Academy. The two sides also agreed to promote bilateral military-technical cooperation and work towards reappointing a Bulgarian Defence Attaché to Vietnam.

Vietnam and Bulgaria will expand cooperation in training and sharing experience in preparing forces for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, crisis response, disaster management, and other peace-time emergency situations.

Meanwhile, they will increase security cooperation based on existing security agreements, maintaining information sharing in in the security field between Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security and Ministry of Interior. Both sides pledged to effectively implement existing agreements, especially in staff training and capacity building based on mutual interests.

Over cooperation in science-technology and education-training, the two sides emphasised the importance of continuing to develop and strengthen the cooperation between the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Based on the new cooperation agreement signed in 2022 to foster bilateral science and technology development collaboration across all areas, Vietnam and Bulgaria identified significant opportunities brought by digital transformation, green economy, and innovation. They agreed to capitalise on the strengths and advantages of each country, in line with their development strategies by 2030 with a vision to 2045, addressing the challenges faced by the two academies during the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Highlighting that education and training remain a traditional and effective area of cooperation, the two sides agreed that through the signing of the education cooperation agreement between Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education, Youth, and Science in the the 2025-2028 period, they will work together to enhance the quality of education and develop a high-quality workforce and promote scientific research and innovation. They agreed to encourage direct cooperation between universities and educational institutions of the two countries, including research on Bulgaria in Vietnam and on Vietnam in Bulgaria.

The two sides also agreed to develop win-win cooperation in information and communication technology by strengthening bilateral institutional frameworks and fostering direct connections between the business sectors of the two countries.

The two sides will explore opportunities to expand labour cooperation and promote partnership in vocational training in nursing, tourism, construction, textiles, and other fields, towards supporting potential Vietnamese workers in finding employment opportunities, based on the Memorandum of Understanding on labour and social welfare cooperation signed in 2018 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

They recognised the immense potential for expanding cooperation in agriculture and fisheries, as well as in the food industry, including wine production.
Bulgaria will support Vietnam’s efforts to promote its export of agro-forestry-aquatic products to the EU market, in compliance with high-quality standards and traceability requirements.

The two sides encourage the development of circular and green economy, and support each other in achieving their goal of sustainable, responsible and environmentally friendly aquaculture and fishing to meet EU regulations, particularly those related to combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Regarding cultural, sports and tourism cooperation, the two sides agreed to collaborate on organising activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations in 2025, based on the cultural cooperation programme for 2024-2026 signed in 2023 between Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture; and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the Olympic Committees of the two nations and establish mechanisms to support training activities for national teams in sports of mutual interest.

They will also promote the sharing of information and management experience; support training and human resources development programmes in tourism; and cooperate in granting visas for citizens of both countries through the tourism cooperation plan in 2024-2026 signed in 2023 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism.

The two countries agreed to support their localities in boosting cooperation and establishing partnerships in line their demands. They also emphasised the importance of intensifying trade and investment promotion activities, and welcomed the signing and implementation of cooperation agreements between localities, such as the partnership between Can Tho city and Ruse.

The two sides will strengthen their relationship in development cooperation by identifying areas for priority support for Vietnam, based on its demands and in accordance with existing EU documents, including the Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) and the Global Gateway, as part of their efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to social, economic, and environmental development.

The joint statement affirmed that Vietnamese citizens who have studied and worked in Bulgaria, as well as the Vietnamese community currently residing in the European nation, are important factors in tightening the friendship between the two countries, importantly contributing to developing their economic, trade, and investment partnership. The two sides pledged to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria, as well as Bulgarian citizens living in Vietnam, to live, study, and work stably in respective nations, thus promoting their role as a bridge for the bilateral relations.

Vietnamese, Bulgarian Presidents hold press conference
 
President Luong Cuong and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev co-chaired a press conference following their talks in Hanoi on November 25, announcing that they have agreed on major directions and specific measures to enhance cooperation and elevate the relations between the two countries in the time ahead.

President Cuong said the two sides noted with pleasure the positive development of the traditional friendship across spheres, particularly in politics, diplomacy, trade, labour, and national defence and security. However, they shared the view that such cooperation outcomes remain modest, yet to match the potential and aspirations of both sides.

According to Cuong, the two sides consented to maintain regular exchanges of all-level delegations and to strengthen cooperation in economy, education-training, science-technology, labour, culture, sports, and tourism, as well as people-to-people exchange.

They has set the goals of raising the effectiveness of investment cooperation and bilateral trade turnover; fully implementing the agreements both have signed or participated in, particularly maximising opportunities generated by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); and optimising cooperation mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Committee on economic and scientific-technical cooperation.

The President said the two sides also concurred to explore new cooperation areas where Bulgaria has strengths and Vietnam has needs, such as digital transformation and biotechnology in agriculture and health care. He asked the Bulgarian President to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria, thus contributing to fostering the friendship between the two countries.

On the multilateral front, the Vietnamese President said that both sides valued their close and effective coordination at multilateral organisations and forums, particularly the United Nations and within the ASEAN-EU framework.

With regard to international and regional issues of shared concern, they agreed that global disputes and conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law, helping maintain peace, stability, and development in both regions and the world at large.

Cuong announced that the two sides issued a joint statement on the outcomes of the visit, affirming Vietnamese and Bulgarian leaders’ commitment to strengthening cooperation in areas of the countries’ strengths and needs for the sake of their people and for cooperation and prosperity in the world.

He expressed his confidence that the agreements signed during the trip, coupled with the political resolve of the leaders and the efforts of the sides’ ministries and business communities, will drive the Vietnam-Bulgaria traditional friendship and multifaceted collaboration to thrive meeting their sustainable development needs.

For his part, President Radev said the close and trusted relationship is no coincidence, with Vietnam being Bulgaria’s key partner in Southeast Asia and their bilateral traditional ties cultivated over many years.

He stressed that on the occasion of his visit, both sides look forward to a deeper and close relationship. The two sides have reviewed their relations and agreeing upon the importance of stepping up economic and trade relationship to match their political ties and potential, he said, adding that his delegation includes representatives from major Bulgarian businesses and expressed optimism that the business forum held within this trip would yield positive outcomes.

Expressing his satisfaction with the signed agreements spanning education, trade, and locality-to-locality ties, the Bulgarian President said he hopes that they would serve as a foundation for advancing mutual trust and bilateral cooperation.

Acknowledging the significant contributions of over 30,000 Vietnamese nationals who studied and worked in Bulgaria, Radev called this community a bridge fostering the relations.

Bulgaria was the first Eastern European country to establish Vietnamese language and cultural education programmes, he said. The leader vowed to preserve the two nations’ friendship and voiced his support for deepened ties between the EU and Vietnam.

Earlier, the two presidents witnessed the exchange of several signed cooperation documents. They include the two governments’ education cooperation agreement for 2025-2028, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint work between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and an MoU between the authorities of Vietnam’s Can Tho city and Bulgaria’s Ruse city.

VNA