Hanoi (VNA) – Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria RosenDimitrov Jeliazkov and his entourage left Hanoi on January 9 afternoon,concluding their five-day official trip to Vietnam at the invitation of NationalAssembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

This was the first visit by a Bulgarian NA Speaker in over a decade, and wasbilled as a reciprocal visit following the official Bulgaria visit by theVietnamese top legislator in September 2023.

Jeliazkov's visit was to cultivate soundpolitical relations between the two countries via Party, State, parliament,Government and people-to-people exchange channels. It offered a goodopportunity for the two sides to discuss regional and international issues ofmutual concerns, bolster bilateral relations and cooperation in a practicaland effective fashion, especially in the areas of their strength.

Bulgaria sees Vietnam as an important partner in theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while Vietnam views the visiting delegation as an important link to a strategic Eastern European partner.

During his stay, Jeliazkov had extensive meetings with a host of Vietnamese leaders.

Leaders of the two countries commented the positive development progress in thebilateral cooperation across various areas, and agreed to continue enhancingvisits and contact at all levels via all channels as well as effectively rollout bilateral cooperation mechanisms and agreements.

Amidst the economic downturn across the globe, two-way trade revenue topped 200million USD. Both sides eyed 500 million USD a year in the bilateral trade exchangeby promoting trade and investment cooperation, particularly in the fields oftheir strengths such as hi-tech agriculture, pharmaceuticals, IT, tourism,culture, aviation, among others.

Vietnamcalled on Bulgaria to influence the European Commission’s consideration of removingthe “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood. Additionally, the country appreciated theBulgarian NA’s ratification of the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement(EVIPA), which will help Bulgarian enterprises access the Vietnamese market aswell as reach the ASEAN market. The group asked the Bulgarian side to accelerate theratification by the remaining member parliaments of the EU so that the EVIPAcould take effect at the early date.

The two legislators concurred that both sides should continue formalising the newMemorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two parliaments signedin September 2023 in a swift, active and effective manner, and in line with thespirit that parliamentary cooperation forms an important pillar of the twocountries’ relations.

Besides, cooperation between the two parliamentary friendship groups will helpthe Vietnamese and Bulgarian NAs work together to supervise the implementationof their plans and agreements right from 2024.

The two sides said they will also maintain high-level mutualvisits between NA leaders, agencies, and parliamentary friendship groups. They also plan to increasesharing information and experience in parliamentary activities, coordinate cooperationagreements between the two Governments, and maintain mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums as wellas in regional and international issues of shared concern.

Regarding international and regional issues of mutual interest, the two sideswelcomed the support that they have given to each other at international forumsand organisations such as the United Nations, International Parliamentary Unionand Asia-Europe Meeting.

They expressed their belief that the Vietnam – Bulgaria traditionalfriendship and multifaceted cooperation will be unceasingly consolidated anddeveloped in the time ahead, towards the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relations (February 8, 1950-2025)./.