State President Lương Cường and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam and Bulgaria have issued a joint statement affirming their senior leaders' commitments to promoting 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 Việt Nam from November 24-28 by President Rumen Radev, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation of Bulgaria at the invitation of State President Lương Cường.

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 Việt Nam and Bulgaria in September 2023; enhancing the role of the Việt Nam - 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 Việt Nam and the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute.

Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam-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 Việt Nam-EU relationship based on the Việt Nam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, alongside the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), creating new opportunities for Bulgaria-Việt Nam 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 US$500 million 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 Việt Nam.

Việt Nam 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 the security field between Việt Nam's Ministry of Public Security and Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security and Ministry of Interior. Both sides pledged to effectively implement the existing agreements, especially in staff training and capacity building based on mutual interests.

Regarding cooperation in science-technology and education-training, the two sides emphasised the importance of continuing to develop and strengthen the cooperation between the Việt Nam 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, Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education, Youth, and Science in the 2025-2028 period, they will work together to enhance the quality of education, 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 Việt Nam and on Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam’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 Việt Nam’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 Việt Nam 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 Cần Thơ city and Ruse.

The two sides will strengthen their relationship in development cooperation by identifying areas for priority support for Việt Nam, 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 Việt Nam, to live, study, and work stably in respective nations, thus promoting their role as a bridge for bilateral relations. - VNS