NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ joins a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in Bulgaria with Vietnamese community. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vương Đình Huệ had meetings with the Chairman of the Bulgaria-Việt Nam Friendship Association, several Vietnamese Ambassadors to European countries, and representatives of Vietnamese communities in Europe in Sofia on September 24 (local time) as part of his ongoing visit to Bulgaria.

Talking to Chairman of the Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Association Simeon Dimchev, the NA Chairman highlighted the close friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries over the past 73 years, and underlined that Việt Nam always attaches great importance to and hopes to further promote ties with Bulgaria.

Hailing the positive contributions that mass organisations of the two countries, including the Việt Nam-Bulgaria and Bulgaria-Việt Nam Friendship Associations, have made to the friendship and partnership between the two countries over the past 73 years, the top legislator said that people-to-people exchange is an important diplomatic channel in promoting friendship between the two states and peoples.

He held that the 30,000-strong Vietnamese community in Bulgaria is a bridge for the friendship between the two nations.

Dimchev briefed the Vietnamese NA leader on major activities of the association, including those to introduce the culture, land and people of Việt Nam in Bulgaria.

The same day, NA Chairman Huệ had a meeting with Vietnamese ambassadors to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Turkey.

NA Chairman Huệ stressed that Europe is an important partner of Việt Nam, expressing his hope that the ambassadors will show strong performance in implementing the Party’s policy regarding multilateral external relations and Vietnamese citizen abroad, and in mobilising resources for national development.

Particularly, the NA leader asked the diplomats to pay special attention to economic diplomacy, pushing for the ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create favourable conditions for investment activities with Việt Nam.

Along with strengthening the protection of Vietnamese citizens in the European countries, the diplomat should support them in fostering solidarity and making contributions to the protection and construction of the Fatherland, he said.

Earlier, the Vietnamese top legislator visited Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in the capital city of Sofia. 

Also on September 24, NA Chairman Huệ had a meeting with the Vietnamese communities in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Czech Redpublic and Slovakia. 

Noting that the Việt Nam-Bulgaria partnership in politics-diplomacy has been fruitful, but bilateral trade and investment cooperation has remained modest, the NA leader said that his visit will focus on beefing up trade and investment ties between the two countries and boosting locality-to-locality cooperation.

He briefed the community on the situation at home and affirmed the Party and State’s consistent policy of considering the Vietnamese community abroad as an inseparable part and great resources of the Vietnamese nation.

He expressed his delight as Slovakia has become the second country after the Czech Republic to recognise the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group.

He said he hopes the Vietnamese community abroad will continue to promote solidarity and mutual support, maintain and develop the mother tongue and cultural identity, and making more contributions to the national development.

The NA leader affirmed that the Party and State are working hard to complete policies and laws regarding overseas Vietnamese in order to better ensure their legitimate rights and interests.

On the occasion, NA Chairman Huệ witnessed the launch of an education promotion fund by the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria and cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Fatherland Garden – a venue for an exhibition of Vietnamese products. VNS