Hanoi (VNA)ꦐ - Chairman of the Vietnamese NationalAssembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue left Hanoi on September 21 morning for official visits toBangladesh and Bulgaria.

The visits, lasting from September 21-26, are made atthe invitations of Speaker of the Bangladeshi Parliament Shirin SharminChaudhury and President of the NA of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov. The NA Chairman is accompanied by General Secretary of the NA and Chairman of the NA Office Bui Van Cuong; Chairman of the NA Committee for Foreign Affairs Vu Hai Ha; and  Chairman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy, among others. The visits aim to implement the foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of foreign relations ofthe 13th Party Congress and the Politburo’s Resolution No. 34-NQ/TW datedJanuary 9, 2023. The trips are also expected to promote cooperative relations between the NAof Vietnam and the legislative bodies of the two countries, continue to promotefriendship between Vietnam and Bangladesh, and affirm Vietnam's attachement to its traditional friendship with Bulgaria. For Bangladesh, the visit takes place in the context of the gooddevelopment of Vietnam-Bangladesh friendship and at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomaticrelations (1973 - 2023). It is expected to contribute to consolidating andexpanding the friendship and effective and practical cooperation between thetwo countries in all fields, affirming the commitment of the NA of Vietnam tocooperate with the Bangladeshi Parliament after the Vietnam visit by the Speaker of the Bangladeshi Parliament in 2017. It is the most important foreign political event between thetwo countries on the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomaticrelations, and the first visit by the Vietnamese NA Chairman to Bangladesh andthe highest leader of Vietnam to visit Bangladesh since 2018. On February 8, 1950, Bulgaria was one of the first ten countriesin the world to recognise and officially establish diplomatic relations withVietnam. The official visit to Bulgaria by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is made15 years after the visit to the European country by NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong in 2008. Hue’s visit aims to further consolidate and strengthen the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnamand Bulgaria in general and between the two countries’ NAs in particular. During the visit, the two sides will re-sign the Memorandum ofUnderstanding between the two NAs; step up bilateral cooperation inall fields, promote the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA), urge the Bulgarian National Assembly to ratify the EU-Vietnam InvestmentProtection Agreement (EVIPA), and discuss international and regional issues ofmutual concern./.