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Rumen Radev: The EU-Vietnam Agreement on Investment Protection Opens favourable prospects for Bulgaria's economic cooperation with a trusted partner

The Head of State meets with the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam is an important partner of Bulgaria in the Southeast Asian region, with which we have a traditional relationship of close friendship and mutual respect. The enhanced political dialogue in recent years is an important prerequisite for intensifying bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest. This is what President Rumen Radev said during a meeting in Sofia with the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vuong Dinh Hue, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament.

Rumen Radev highlighted Vietnam's success in maintaining a very high economic growth in the past years in the extremely dynamic region of Southeast Asia. The investment protection agreement signed between the European Union and Vietnam is a clear sign of how important relations with Vietnam are for European countries, the President emphasised. It also opens up favourable prospects for further development of bilateral cooperation in energy and the transition to a green economy, industry, agriculture, medicine, pharmaceuticals, information technology and tourism, among others. In the Head of State's words, Bulgaria will continue to be a strong advocate for the development of the EU's relations with a priority partner like Vietnam, and the two countries can build on their cooperation in trade through the establishment of joint enterprises, the joint development of technologies and their export to new markets.

During the meeting, Radev also highlighted the traditional contacts and exchanges between Bulgaria and Vietnam in the field of education. In the decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, about 30,000 Vietnamese citizens received their higher education in Bulgarian universities, participated in the creation of the modern image of Vietnam and some of them today hold high-ranking positions in society, administration and business circles. Rumen Radev invited more students from Vietnam to choose to continue this tradition, as well as to send a Vietnamese language lecturer to a Bulgarian university to teach Bulgarian students, among whom interest in Vietnam is growing.

The two noted that the two countries have good traditions in the field of military education, defence and security, and further expansion of cooperation in these areas is of mutual interest.