Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge to support Bulgariaand the EU in enhancing relations with the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) and its member nations.
President Tran Dai Quang made the statement at a reception for outgoingBulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Ebgueni Stefanov Stoytchev in Hanoi onSeptember 28.
He recognised the ambassador’s active andeffective contributions to promoting the bilateral cooperation in variousfields such as politics, external affairs, economy, trade, security, defenceand local collaboration along with the two countries’ close coordination atmultilateral forums and international organisations.
The President hailed the role and position ofBulgaria in the European Union (EU). As Bulgaria took over the rotationalpresidency of the EU Council in January 2018, President Quang proposed thecountry support Vietnam in bolstering partnership with the EU and early reachingthe signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Highlighting the sound traditional friendshipand multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria, he suggested thetwo sides maintain all-level delegation exchanges to discuss measures tointensify the bilateral rapports.
He urged the two countries to soon conduct the24th meeting of the inter-governmental committee on economic, trade and scientificcooperation with the implementation of practical and specific projects with aview to increasing two-way trade in the coming time.
Vietnam and Bulgaria should encouragecooperation among training facilities and increase the number of annualscholarships, he suggested.
He thanked Bulgaria for backing Vietnam’s bid tobecome a member of the UNESCO Executive Council in the 2015-2019 period and theUN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2016-2018, as well as anon-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.
For his part, Ambassador Stoytchev affirmed thatVietnam and Bulgaria are traditional friends and Bulgaria always supportsVietnam at international forums and organisations.
As a member of the EU, Bulgaria will back relationsbetween the EU and Vietnam and believes that the EVFTA will create moreeconomic and trade cooperation opportunities for both sides once ratified, hesaid.
This year marks the 60th anniversary ofPresident Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Bulgaria, he said, adding that a wide range ofactivities have been carried out across his country to celebrate this event,including a photo exhibition on the life and revolutionary career of thePresident.-VNA