On the morning of November 25, at the Presidential Palace, after a solemn official welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong held talks with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. In an atmosphere of sincerity, trust and openness, the two sides had in-depth discussions on major orientations and specific measures to strengthen cooperation and elevate relations in the coming time.
At the talks, on behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Luong Cuong welcomed President Rumen Radev, his wife and the high-ranking delegation of the Bulgarian State to pay an official visit to Vietnam, emphasizing that the visit ahead of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025 is an important event, elevating and contributing to deepening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation in a more practical and effective manner; affirming that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen cooperation with Bulgaria, Vietnam's priority partner in the Central-Eastern Europe region. The President sincerely thanked Bulgaria for its valuable support and assistance to Vietnam in the past struggle for national liberation, as well as in the current national construction and development.
President Rumen Radev expressed his joy at visiting Vietnam for the first time; sincerely thanked President Luong Cuong for the invitation and the warm, respectful and thoughtful reception for the delegation, considering this a testament to the long-term trust between the two countries; expressed his interest, admiration and congratulations on the great achievements that Vietnam has made in the cause of Renovation, national development as well as international integration; believed that with its economic development achievements and increasingly high political position, Vietnam is an important factor in the Southeast Asian region.
In an atmosphere of sincerity, trust and openness, the two sides had in-depth discussions on major orientations and specific measures to strengthen cooperation and elevate relations in the coming time.
In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides agreed to continue to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, through all channels of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and people-to-people exchanges to further consolidate political trust and mutual understanding, creating a foundation for expanding bilateral cooperation in all fields.
Regarding trade and investment, the two Heads of State affirmed that this is an important pillar in bilateral relations; agreed to further promote existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation; encouraged ministries, branches, localities and enterprises of the two countries to continue to effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); agreed to strengthen investment cooperation in Bulgaria's strong fields such as information technology, supporting industries, etc. President Rumen Radev said that trade and investment is also one of the main purposes of the visit, accompanying the delegation are many large Bulgarian enterprises and hopes to have concrete progress in the coming time.
On this occasion, President Luong Cuong thanked Bulgaria for being one of the first EU member states to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); proposed to have a voice to urge the remaining EU countries to soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement, support the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU "Yellow Card" for Vietnam's seafood exports; thanked and requested Bulgarian authorities at all levels to continue to facilitate the Vietnamese community to live and integrate more deeply into the host society, making positive contributions to the development of Bulgaria as well as the traditional friendship between the two countries.
Agreeing with President Luong Cuong's assessment of the positive developments in the traditional friendship in recent times, President Rumen Radev expressed his pride in Bulgaria's active contributions to Vietnam's construction and development, helping Vietnam develop human resources and train more than 30,000 highly skilled workers; said that Bulgaria has achieved many impressive achievements in economic development in recent times, becoming one of the EU's digital transformation centers with many companies holding important positions globally in this field; affirmed that Bulgaria considers Vietnam an important partner in Southeast Asia and wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnam in all fields.
President Rumen Radev affirmed that the two countries need to promote effective cooperation in traditional areas such as defense-security, education-training, science-technology, agriculture, culture-sports, tourism and people-to-people exchange, while promoting the expansion of cooperation in new areas such as digital transformation, information technology, mineral processing, and environment; with its important geographical location, Bulgaria is ready to act as a bridge for Vietnam to enter the EU market.
At the talks, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation and people-to-people exchanges to create connections and mutual understanding between the two countries; facilitate the issuance of entry visas for citizens of the two countries; and further promote cooperation between localities of the two countries through trade, investment and tourism promotion activities. The two leaders affirmed that the two countries will continue to closely coordinate, share experiences and support each other at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations, within the framework of ASEAN-EU, contributing to jointly solving global challenges.
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed that disputes and conflicts in the world need to be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the regions and the world, for global cooperation and prosperity.
On this occasion, President Rumen Radev respectfully invited President Luong Cuong to visit Bulgaria soon, and President Luong Cuong happily accepted.
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