Top Vietnamese and Bulgarian legislators have agreed that the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade and scientific cooperation will soon convene this year, thereby opening up new areas of cooperation and boosting market facilitation for each other's goods under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The consensus was reached during the talks between Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov in Hanoi on January 8 following a welcome ceremony for the latter.

Hue highly appreciated the visit to Vietnam after 12 years of the Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly which was made immediately after the Bulgaria trip by the high-ranking Vietnamese NA in September 2023.

He welcomed the plan for high-level delegation exchange between the two countries and believed that these visits demonstrate the determination and actions of senior leaders to further deepen the traditional friendly cooperation with a nearly 75-year history.

For his part, the Bulgarian Speaker showed his confidence that during the visit, the two sides will share views and future directions for bilateral relations in the time ahead.

At the talks, the two NA leaders expressed joy and pride in the achievements after nearly 75 years of bilateral diplomatic relations (1950-2023), with Vietnam - Bulgaria cooperation seeing positive development across a variety of fields such as politics - diplomacy, economics - trade - investment, science - technology, education - training, defence - security, culture, sports- tourism, and cooperation among localities.

The top Vietnamese legislator affirmed his nation's readiness to open the door for Bulgarian businesses to invest and tradein strong products, make efforts to implement the EC's recommendations on sustainable development, and hoped that Bulgaria will prompt the European Commission  (EC) to remove the  illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)  "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood.

The Bulgarian side wishes to boost trade links with Vietnam in potential aspheres such as high technology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, creativity, and tourism, Dimitrov Jeliazkov told his host.

NA Chairman Hue hailed the Bulgarian NA for ratifying the EVIPA right before the visit by the high-ranking Vietnamese NA delegation in September 2023. This agreement will help Bulgarian businesses access the Vietnamese market of 100 million people and reach out to the ASEAN and regional markets, Hue said, while asking Bulgaria to promote the EVIPA to make it come into force soon.

Hue said that in terms of science and technology, the Science and Technology Cooperation Committee will soon hold a meeting to bolster cooperation in areas where Bulgaria has strengths such as information technology and artificial intelligence, high technology, digital transformation, and green transformation.

He asked Bulgaria to create more favorable conditions for granting visas to Vietnamese citizens, and suggested that both sides go ahead with tourism promotion in each country, and increase the exchange of tourism business delegations and localities in sustainable Tourism development.

Vietnam hopes to learn from experience in tourism management and promotion, Hue added.

Regarding local cooperation, host and guest affirmed that this is a unique feature of the two countries and an opportunity for their people  to cooperate better in all fields. Recently, the two sides have stepped up cooperation between localities such as Sophia with  Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; Varna with Da Nang; Ruse with Can Tho, Sumen with Thanh Hoa, Pleven with Son La, Veliko Tarnovo with Hue and most recently Vinh Phuc with Pernik.

Sharing the same view that labor cooperation is a traditional field with great potential, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that Vietnam is in the golden population stage with an abundant, trained young labor force. He proposed that the two Governments soon sign a government-level agreement to facilitate businesses carrying out labor cooperation projects in Bulgaria, especially in healthcare, garments and agriculture.

The Bulgarian NA leader said that Bulgarian businesses welcome highly skilled Vietnamese employees to work in their nation.

The two NA leaders agreed that both sides need to research a new educational cooperation program with a view to attracting students and graduate students from the two nations to study at each country's schools and training facilities in fields of both sides’ strengths and international links.

​They also consented to further augment cooperation on defence and security, effectively carry out  the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation. Bulgaria will share experience in United Nations peacekeeping operations, anti-hackers, and support Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of mines and bombs.

The leaders highly appreciated multilateral cooperation over the past time. Both sides welcomed each other's support for the Human Rights Council, with Bulgaria for the 2024-2026 term, Vietnam for the 2023-2025 term. Hue requested Bulgaria to back Vietnam’s bid to run for the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2026-2028, the United Nations Economic and Social Council in the 2030-2032 period and the UN Security Council for 2032-2033. Vietnam supports Bulgaria in joining the UN Security Council in 2030.

​On this occasion, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue thanked the Bulgarian NA Assembly and Government for helping the Vietnamese community overcome the pandemic and continue to integrate into local society in order to make practical contributions to bilateral cooperation.

Emphasizing that Vietnam highly appreciates the EU's common stance on the East Sea (August 2019), of which Bulgaria is a member, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked Bulgaria to support the stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on the East Sea in accordance with the EU's stance on the East Sea in accordance with international law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation, maintaining peace, stability and development cooperation in the region and the world as a whole.

Hue and Dimitrov Jeliazkov expressed their joy to see that the relationship between the two legislatures has continuously developed over the past time. Hue suggested that the two sides promote parliamentary activities which are the pillars of bilateral ties. They also applauded the activities of the two friendly parliamentary groups which will act as a bridge to further boost parliamentary cooperation.

NA Chairman said he believes that the time-honoured friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria will be continuously strengthened and developed strongly this year and in the future towards the celebration of the 75th anniversary of  diplomatic relations.

​ Immediately after the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a cooperation document between Vietnam’s Lai Chau city and Ka-zan-lúk city of Bulgaria.

Source: VOV