Chairman of the Việt Nam's National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ departed from Hà Nội on Thursday morning for visits to Bangladesh and Bulgaria. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Vương Đình Huệ left Hà Nội on Thursday morning for official visits to Bangladesh and Bulgaria.

The visits, lasting from September 21-26, are made at the invitations of Speaker of the Bangladeshi Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and President of the NA of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov.

The NA Chairman is accompanied by General Secretary of the NA and Chairman of the NA Office Bùi Văn Cường; Chairman of the NA Committee for Foreign Affairs Vũ Hải Hà; and Chairman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Lê Quang Huy, among others.

The visits aim to implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of foreign relations of the 13th Party Congress and the Politburo’s Resolution No. 34-NQ/TW dated January 9, 2023. The trips are also expected to promote cooperative relations between the NA of Việt Nam and the legislative bodies of the two countries, continue to promote friendship between Việt Nam and Bangladesh, and affirm Việt Nam's attachement to its traditional friendship with Bulgaria.

For Bangladesh, the visit takes place in the context of the good development of Việt Nam-Bangladesh friendship and at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations (1973-2023).

It is expected to contribute to consolidating and expanding the friendship and effective and practical cooperation between the two countries in all fields, affirming the commitment of the NA of Việt Nam to cooperate with the Bangladeshi Parliament after the Việt Nam visit by the Speaker of the Bangladeshi Parliament in 2017. It is the most important foreign political event between the two countries on the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomatic relations, and the first visit by the Vietnamese NA Chairman to Bangladesh and the highest leader of Việt Nam to visit Bangladesh since 2018.

On February 8, 1950, Bulgaria was one of the first ten countries in the world to recognise and officially establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The official visit to Bulgaria by NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ is made 15 years after the visit to the European country by NA Chairman Nguyễn Phú Trọng in 2008.

Huệ's visit aims to further consolidate and strengthen the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Việt Nam and Bulgaria in general and between the two countries’ NAs in particular.

During the visit, the two sides will re-sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the two NAs; step up bilateral cooperation in all fields, promote the implementation of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), urge the Bulgarian National Assembly to ratify the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and discuss international and regional issues of mutual concern. — VNS