General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Natalia Kiselova. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

SOFIA — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Natalia Kiselova had a meeting in Sofia on Friday, calling parliamentary cooperation an important pillar of the countries’ Strategic Partnership.

Stressing the significance of the Vietnamese leader’s first visit to Bulgaria, Speaker Kiselova stated that her country attaches great importance to and supports the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Việt Nam, its trustworthy and important partner in Southeast Asia.

Party General Secretary Lâm expressed gratitude to Bulgaria for its wholehearted support for Việt Nam during the struggle for independence and reunification in the past as well as development efforts at present. He also thanked the country for helping train tens of thousands of undergraduates, postgraduates, experts, and skilled workers for Việt Nam in various fields, thereby contributing to the friendship between the two peoples.

He also informed his host about the outcomes of the talks with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and the joint declaration on upgrading bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership which, he said, has opened up a new chapter for their relations, creating new momentum for extensive, substantive, and effective development of the relations and contributing to each country’ all-round progress.

Speaker Kiselova congratulated Việt Nam on its socio-economic achievements, describing the new partnership as a demonstration of the vigorous growth and strategic connectivity of Việt Nam and Bulgaria. She considered the partnership critical as the two countries are advancing to a new development phase amidst global volatility.

At the meeting, the two leaders emphasised the role of parliamentary cooperation. They agreed to enhance cooperation in the time ahead, including increasing high-level mutual visits and meetings, along with those between parliamentary committees, to share information and experience and facilitate collaboration in potential areas, including science–technology, especially informational technology, pharmaceuticals, and hi-tech farming.

They also agreed to push forward with fruitfully implementing the cooperation documents signed by the two Governments, particularly those on science–technology, agriculture, and education, and promote the signing of new agreements and cooperation mechanisms.

Party General Secretary Lâm proposed accelerating the establishment of a cooperation mechanism between the two parliaments, and bringing into play the role of the Việt Nam–Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Group. He suggested the European country to soon apply visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens so as to further attract investment and boost people-to-people exchanges in a sustainable, effective, and substantive manner.

The countries should keep strengthening coordination at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) to contribute to regional and global peace, cooperation, and development, he went on.

Việt Nam stands ready to act as a bridge helping foster relations between the Bulgarian National Assembly and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Party leader remarked.

Meanwhile, Speaker Kiselova affirmed that the Bulgarian National Assembly will actively support and promote the implementation of the cooperation directions stated in the joint declaration on the Strategic Partnership establishment.

On this occasion, Party General Secretary Lâm conveyed Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn’s greetings and invitation to visit Việt Nam to his host. — VNA/VNS