Sofia (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh has called on the Bulgarian National Assembly (NA) tosupport the Governments of Vietnam and Bulgaria in taking measures to developthe bilateral ties comprehensively and pragmatically.

At a meeting with NA President Tsveta Karayancheva on July 4, as part of his official visit toBulgaria, Minh urged the Bulgarian side to create more favourable conditionsfor the Vietnamese community to integrate into the host society and thuscontribute to the prosperity of both countries.

He thanked Bulgaria for its assistance to Vietnam, including thetraining of thousands of Vietnamese students and postgraduates, saying Bulgariais now a second home to more than 1,000 Vietnamese people.

For her part, Tsveta Karayancheva recalled her meeting with VietnameseNA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on the fringes of the 138th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva in March.

The two sides compared notes on an array of issues regarding relationsbetween Vietnam and Bulgaria as well as their legislative bodies, he said.

Bulgaria backs the early signing and ratification of the EU-VietnamFree Trade Agreement, the leader said, considering the pact a door to multiplecooperation opportunities for businesses on both ends of the deal.

Host and guest shared the view that the 70-year Vietnam-Bulgariafriendship has created an important premise for the two sides to enhance theircooperation in all realms.

They spoke of the close collaboration between the Vietnamese andBulgarian legislative bodies, which has significantly contributed to boostingthe comprehensive development of the overall relationship between the twocountries.

They held that the respective NAs should step up the exchange ofexperience in law-making and legislative reform.

On this occasion, Deputy PM and FM Minh conveyed NA Chairwoman Ngan’sinvitation to Tsveta Karayancheva to visit Vietnam. The Bulgarian leaderaccepted the invitation with pleasure.

The same day, Deputy PM and FM Minh held talks with Bulgarian DeputyPrime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva.

Host and guest expressed their delight at the fruitful traditional friendshipbetween the two countries, particularly in terms of politics and diplomacy, asreflected through the regular exchange of delegations at all levels.

They pointed out that bilateral economic and trade ties have remainedmoderate  with annual two-way tradeaveraging 100 million USD and Bulgaria’s investments in Vietnam hitting only over30 million USD.

Vietnam and Bulgaria should advance their economic links to a new highon par with the political ties, they suggested.

Minh proposed Bulgaria increase investment in areas specific toBulgaria’s strengths and Vietnam’s demands, such as in medicine, high-techagriculture, information-technology, renewable energy, and urban management.

He also called for greater favourable conditions for Vietnamese agriculturalproducts to access the Bulgarian market, and for Vietnamese nationals to visitBulgaria.

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, theysaid Vietnam and Bulgaria should intensify their coordination and mutualsupport at multilateral forums, especially the UN and the Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM), in order to improve their positions and maintain peace, stability,cooperation, and development in their regions and around the world.

They also underlined the need to deal with disputes by peacefulmeasures and on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They said culturalactivities held in both countries recently  such as the Rose Festival and Slavic ScriptDay in Hanoi; Vietnam’s participation in the International Folk CultureFestival in Burgas and an international art festival in Sozopol,  have contributed to promoting people-to-peopleexchange as well as increasing mutual understanding between the two nations.

The two sides agreed to sign a cultural cooperation programme for 2018-2020soon, serving a foundation for the implementation of activities in the field.

On education cooperation, they also agreed to soon ink a cooperation agreementon education for 2018-2022 in order to facilitate the enhancement of theexchange of students between the two countries, as well as collaboration inscience and experience sharing between the countries’ universities and researchinstitutes.

Bulgaria pledged to increase scholarships to Vietnam, particularly in training  Bulgarian language and international relations.

On the occasion, Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh and his Bulgarian counterpartEkaterina Zaharieva witnessed the signing of a document on receiving propertybetween the two countries’ diplomatic agencies.

After their talks, host and guest held a joint press conference. -VNA