Vietnam and Bulgaria strengthen exchanges and experiences in the field of defense

On July 11, at the headquarters of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet met with Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov.

Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov.

This is Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's first contact with a Government member after officially assuming her position.

At the meeting, Ambassador Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet affirmed that the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria are developing well. The two countries maintain cooperation in many fields, with the highest level of political trust; always support each other at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations. Vietnam always attaches importance to promoting relations with traditional friends, including Bulgaria.

The Ambassador proposed to Minister Atanas Zapryanov some specific cooperation orientations between the two countries in the field of defense, including building defense strategy/policy dialogue mechanisms; enhancing annual exchanges and experiences and academic exchanges between defense training institutions of the two sides.

Affirming that Bulgaria always considers Vietnam an important partner and a bridge for Bulgaria to approach and develop relations with ASEAN countries, Minister Atanas Zapryanov said that the visit to Vietnam by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (November 2024) created an important momentum for the relationship between the two countries.

Regarding defense cooperation, Minister Atanas Zapryanov affirmed that the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense always cooperates closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense. He highly appreciated the annual exchange of vacation delegations, which helps enhance mutual understanding between the two countries' military personnel and contributes positively to bilateral defense relations; and expressed his wish to increase the number of vacation delegations exchanged with the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense to 3 delegations/year from 2026.

Besides, Minister Atanas Zapryanov acknowledged the great contribution of the Vietnamese Defense Attaché Office in connecting the two Ministries of Defense (currently, Bulgaria does not have a Defense Attaché in Vietnam).

The two sides agreed that the two countries have great potential for cooperation in the fields of delegation exchanges, military training, defense industry, etc. At the end of the meeting, Minister Atanas Zapryanov directly instructed the Department of Defense Policy and Planning to continue to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Representative Office in Bulgaria and relevant agencies of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to research and implement the discussed contents.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-va-bulgaria-tang-cuong-giao-luu-trao-doi-kinh-nghiem-trong-linh-vuc-quoc-phong-320961.html