General Secretary To Lam visits Bulgaria: Reviewing strong history, raising the level of cooperation

Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet emphasized that General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria is of historical significance and is especially anticipated by the people of the two countries.

General Secretary To Lam received Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at the Party Central Committee Headquarters on November 25, 2024. (Source: VNA)

On the occasion of General Secretary To Lam and his wife and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation's official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet gave an interview to The Gioi va Viet Nam Newspaper, highlighting the significance of the visit as well as areas of bilateral cooperation that need to be focused on in the future.

How does the Ambassador assess the significance of the upcoming official visit to Bulgaria by General Secretary To Lam and his wife, especially when the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1950-2025)?

Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria)

The official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria by General Secretary To Lam is of historical significance and is highly anticipated by the people of both countries. This is the first time the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam has visited Bulgaria in 50 years, marking a new development in the traditional friendship between the two countries.

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950–2025) – a loyal and trustworthy relationship that has been tested and nurtured over many decades, from the years of fighting for national independence to the cause of national construction and development. This is also the fourth high-level delegation exchange in the past three years, demonstrating the good political relationship and strategic trust between the leaders of the two sides.

The visit took place in the context of Vietnam and Bulgaria both achieving many outstanding achievements in socio-economic development and regional and international integration. With the determination to innovate and integrate deeply, Vietnam is implementing the Central Committee's strategic resolutions, promoting institutional reform and streamlining the apparatus. Just a few days after the visit, Vietnam continued to make its mark by hosting the signing ceremony of the "Hanoi Convention" of the United Nations on combating cybercrime - a clear demonstration of the country's increasing position and prestige in the international arena.

Bulgaria has joined the Schengen Free Travel Area after 13 years of efforts, is preparing to join the Eurozone from January 1, 2026, and is actively moving towards membership of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Bulgaria has expressed its desire to further promote relations with Vietnam.

In that context, General Secretary To Lam's visit is a symbol of political trust, loyal attachment and common aspiration of the two peoples, creating new momentum to elevate Vietnam-Bulgaria relations to a new height, worthy of the 75-year tradition of friendship and the great potential for cooperation between the two countries in two important geostrategic positions in Southeast Asia and Southeast Europe.

Where does the foundation of the traditional friendship between Southeast Asian and Southeast European countries lie, Ambassador?

Vietnam and Bulgaria established diplomatic relations on February 8, 1950, in the context of Vietnam facing many difficulties in the struggle for national independence. The fact that Bulgaria was one of the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam demonstrated the pure international solidarity and valuable support of the Bulgarian people for Vietnam's cause of national liberation. As early as 1957, President Ho Chi Minh set foot in Bulgaria, demonstrating the close and trusting relationship between the two peoples.

Over the past 75 years, the relationship between the two countries has always maintained stability, trust and deepened, based on the historical, political foundation and the close affection between the two peoples. An important testament to this strong relationship is the more than 30,000 Vietnamese people who have lived, studied and worked in Bulgaria in the past decades, they have contributed to the development of both Bulgaria and Vietnam. These are living witnesses, contributing to marking the friendly relationship between the two countries.

Continuing that tradition, the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria today, although not large in number, is always united, hardworking and attached to its homeland, at the same time playing the role of a bridge of friendship, maintaining Vietnamese culture and contributing to strengthening the good relationship between the people of the two countries.

Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and the delegation of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Friendship Association of Hanoi City met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, June 2025. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria)

Could the Ambassador share the highlights of the multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria over the past three-quarters of a century?

In recent years, in the context of many fluctuations in the world, the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship has maintained a positive development momentum, with many delegation exchanges, high-level contacts and practical cooperation initiatives.

In addition to regular exchanges of high-level delegations, in May 2024, the two countries successfully organized the 24th Meeting of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Sofia. Through the meeting, the two sides comprehensively reviewed the cooperation process and identified new priority areas such as digital economy, information technology, innovation, biomedicine, green transformation, training and supply of high-quality human resources.

In the economic and trade fields, the two sides have actively implemented cooperation programs within the framework of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), thereby expanding market access opportunities and diversifying supply chains for businesses of the two countries.

In 2024, bilateral trade turnover increased by nearly 30% compared to the previous year, reflecting a positive recovery and growth trend. In the first 9 months of 2025, exports of many of Vietnam's key products to Bulgaria continued to maintain impressive growth momentum, especially in the groups of agricultural products, textiles and light industry.

In the investment sector, the Bulgarian National Assembly has ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) since September 2023, creating a more favorable legal framework for bilateral cooperation. Bulgarian businesses are increasingly interested in the Vietnamese market in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, renewable energy, agricultural processing and logistics.

On the contrary, Vietnamese enterprises consider Bulgaria as a “gateway” to the European Union market, thanks to its strategic geographical location, developed transport infrastructure and a strongly improved business environment. Bulgaria is also considered a potential location with reasonable production costs, suitable for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in the production of processed agricultural products, textiles, footwear, thereby expanding their presence in the European market.

Labor cooperation is emerging as a new and promising direction. Faced with Bulgaria’s labor shortage, more and more Vietnamese workers are coming to work in the fields of construction, mechanics, food processing, health care, etc. Vietnamese labor is highly appreciated for its skills, discipline and sense of responsibility, leaving a good impression in Bulgarian society. Both sides wish to establish a new labor cooperation mechanism, aiming at sustainable, humane and mutually beneficial cooperation, while strengthening the connection between the two peoples.

Educational and scientific cooperation continues to be a bright spot. Every year, the two sides maintain student and postgraduate exchange under the Education Cooperation Agreement between the two governments. Many universities and research institutes have signed academic and research cooperation agreements. In the 2025-2026 academic year, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training will send Vietnamese language lecturers to teach at Sofia University for the first time, marking a new development in academic and language exchanges.

Cultural cooperation, tourism and people-to-people exchanges continue to be strongly promoted. The Vietnam-Bulgaria and Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Associations regularly coordinate to organize photo exhibitions, friendship exchanges, film screenings and events promoting Vietnamese culture and cuisine in Bulgaria, contributing to strengthening the relationship and enhancing understanding between the two peoples.

The Vietnamese community in Bulgaria has promoted its role as a bridge of friendship and actively participated in local social and cultural activities. After Vietnam decided to exempt visas for Bulgarian citizens from August 2025, tourism businesses of the two countries have promoted cooperation in connecting tours, especially towards cultural, heritage and beach tourism. In addition, the two sides are studying the possibility of cooperation in the fields of sports and creative culture, taking advantage of Bulgaria's strengths in gymnastics, classical music and performing arts.

Local cooperation is also taking place actively. Localities of the two countries proactively seek opportunities for twinning and development cooperation, contributing to deepening bilateral cooperation.

These comprehensive results show that the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship is entering a more dynamic, substantial and comprehensive development phase, based on the foundation of traditional friendship, political trust and close attachment between the people of the two countries.

Delegates perform the cake-cutting ceremony at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day and the 75th anniversary of Vietnam-Bulgaria diplomatic relations in the capital Sofia on September 10. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria)

According to the Ambassador, what are the factors that have strengthened the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria over the past 75 years?

One of the important factors that has helped the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship to continuously develop is the high level of political trust. Vietnam considers Bulgaria a reliable traditional partner, playing a bridging role between Vietnam and the European Union (EU). For their part, Bulgarian leaders have always affirmed that Vietnam is a top priority partner in Southeast Asia, and at the same time support Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive relationship with the EU.

The two countries regularly maintain high-level delegation exchanges and contacts, as well as closely coordinate and support each other at regional and international forums, demonstrating understanding, shared interests and views on many international issues of common concern.

The leaders of the two countries share many similarities in their development visions, aiming for peace, cooperation, integration and sustainable development, on the basis of respect for international law, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country. The two sides reaffirmed their support for multilateralism and the rules-based international order, with the United Nations playing a central role; emphasized respect for and full compliance with international law, peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United Nations Charter, and non-threat or use of force.

On the basis of solid political trust, the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship is opening up many new areas for cooperation in the context of the world changing strongly due to global trends.

According to the Ambassador, entering a new phase, what should the two countries do to promote bilateral cooperation worthy of the loyal and sustainable friendship that has been built and nurtured over many generations?

In the coming time, the two countries can promote complementary strengths to promote cooperation in a number of areas such as:

Green and digital transformation : leveraging Bulgaria's strengths in technology, innovation and high-quality human resources, combined with Vietnam's production capacity and market size.

Education, science and technology : promote joint research, technology transfer in the fields of smart agriculture, biomedicine, environmental treatment and clean energy.

Tourism and people-to-people exchange : study the possibility of opening direct flights between the two countries, enhancing cultural and tourism cooperation, promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam and Bulgaria.

Local and business cooperation : promote connections between localities, associations and businesses of the two countries; maintain annual economic and trade forums, creating a network of practical and effective cooperation.

In the context of a global world that is profoundly changing due to technological transformation, climate change and the trend of multipolar cooperation, Vietnam and Bulgaria have many favorable conditions to further strengthen their partnership for mutual development.

General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria is a strategic step, demonstrating the two countries' strong political determination to bring the Vietnam-Bulgaria relationship to a new height, for peace, prosperity, sustainable development of each country and common prosperity of the two peoples.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

"The official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria by General Secretary To Lam is of historical significance and is highly anticipated by the people of both countries. This is the first time the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam has visited Bulgaria in 50 years, marking a new step in the traditional friendship between the two countries." (Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet)

The Vietnam-Bulgaria Economic Cooperation Forum was organized by the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria in coordination with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on July 3, 2025. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tham-bulgaria-on-lich-su-ben-chat-nang-tam-cao-hop-tac-331536.html