According to VNA, after successfully concluding the official visit to the Republic of Finland, on the evening of October 22 (local time), the plane carrying General Secretary To Lam and his wife Ngo Phuong Ly and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived at Sofia International Airport, starting an official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria from October 22-24, 2025, at the invitation of President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev.
Officially joining the delegation were comrades: Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Inspection Committee;
General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Minister of National Defense; General Luong Tam Quang, Politburo member, Minister of Public Security;
Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs; Pham Gia Tuc, member of the Party Central Committee, Chief of the Party Central Committee Office; Nguyen Thanh Nghi, member of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Committee's Policy and Strategy Committee;
Nguyen Manh Hung, member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Science and Technology; Nguyen Hong Dien, member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Industry and Trade;
Tran Duc Thang, member of the Party Central Committee, Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment; Vo Van Dung, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Central Internal Affairs Commission;
Bui Thi Quynh Van, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Organization Committee; To An Xo, Assistant to the General Secretary, Head of the General Secretary's Office; Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Bulgaria.
Welcoming General Secretary To Lam and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation at Sofia International Airport, on the Bulgarian side were: Mr. Atanas Zafirov, Chairman of the Socialist Party, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Roussi Ivanov, Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Presidential Palace; Mr. Mircho Ivanov, Director of the ceremony Department, the Presidential Palace.
On the Vietnamese side, there were: Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Bulgaria; officials of the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria and the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria.
At the airport, Mr. Atanas Zafirov, Chairman of the Socialist Party, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria welcomed and presented a bouquet of fresh flowers to General Secretary To Lam and his wife.
Then, General Secretary To Lam and his wife shook hands with Bulgarian and Vietnamese officials. Representatives of the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria happily waved the flags of the two countries, welcomed and presented flowers to General Secretary To Lam and his wife.
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.
The visit took place at a very meaningful time, when Vietnam and Bulgaria celebrate 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.
The official visit of General Secretary To Lam to Bulgaria carries 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 cause of national construction and development of Vietnam.
