Within the framework of the visit to Finland, the two sides issued a Joint Statement on officially upgrading relations to a Strategic Partnership, setting out major orientations to promote and enhance cooperation, develop traditional friendship and the Vietnam - Finland Strategic Partnership for the long-term interests of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in each region and the world.
Regarding the visit to Bulgaria, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said that the visit took place at a very meaningful time, when Vietnam and Bulgaria celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and this was the first visit of a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam after Bulgaria's institutional transformation in 1990.
Following the official visit to Finland, General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria conveys a message of sincere affection and respect of the Party, State and people of Vietnam for the partners and traditional friends who have made valuable supports and contributions to the past struggle to protect the Fatherland and the current construction and development of the country of Vietnam. The visit is also an opportunity for Vietnam to open new cooperation space with Bulgaria in particular and ASEAN countries in general.
As one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, since 1950, the friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria has been nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries. Viet- Bun Hospital in Thai Binh, Viet-Bun Kindergarten in Hanoi is a meaningful gift that the Bulgarian people give to the people of the capital.
This visit will be an opportunity for the two countries' senior leaders to look back on the achievements in developing relations to have strategic orientations, bringing the long-standing friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria to new heights, especially in areas where Bulgaria has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as information technology, quantum, artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, green transformation, medicine, etc. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for the two countries to firmly build a bridge of trust connecting Bulgaria with ASEAN and vice versa, Vietnam with the EU.
Looking back at the bilateral relationship over the past 75 years, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang pointed out that in terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides have regularly maintained exchanges of high-level delegations and at all levels, periodically implementing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, thereby creating a foundation for deep political trust. Two-way trade turnover has grown continuously in recent years.
Regarding education and training, the two countries have signed a Cooperation Program for the 2025-2028 period and are considering researching and expanding the training cooperation environment in Bulgaria's strengths such as information technology, cyber security, e-Government, public administration, etc.
The two sides are also implementing scientific research cooperation tasks; establishing a Science - Technology Cooperation Committee, focusing on new areas such as biotechnology, information - communication technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green energy, etc.
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed her belief that General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Bulgaria will open up promising prospects for cooperation, in line with Vietnam's strategic orientation in the new era, bringing many positive results for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in each region and in the world.
