Viet Nam considers Bulgaria a crucial partner in Central and Eastern Europe: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the above statement on Monday during his reception for Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov who is on an official visit to Viet Nam.

Pham proposed both sides identify economic cooperation as a pillar in their bilateral ties, making efforts to soon achieve the trade goal of US$500 million per year.

He suggested Bulgaria urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the "yellow card" warning on Vietnamese seafoods, expressing thanks to the Bulgarian National Assembly for its approval of the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The two governments should sign a labor cooperation agreement to facilitate their businesses to carry out cooperation projects in Bulgaria, especially in terms of health, construction, garment and agriculture, the Prime Minister recommended.

He suggested Bulgaria advocate the principled positions of ASEAN and Viet Nam on the East Sea issue, including ensuring safety and freedom of aviation and navigation and peacefully addressing disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Viet Nam stands ready to work as a gateway and play a bridging role for Bulgaria to bolster collaboration with ASEAN, Prime Minister Pham emphasized.

For his part, the top Bulgarian legislator reiterated that Bulgaria regards Viet Nam as one of important partners in ASEAN, expecting to foster the multi-faceted relations with Viet Nam to optimize their potentials.

He called on both sides to push forward stronger ties in terms of trade and investment, particularly in advantageous products with high-added value in such industries as high-tech agriculture, pharmacy, information technology, tourism, culture, and aviation, and local-to-local cooperation.

Regarding labor cooperation, he said that Bulgarian enterprises welcome Vietnamese skilled workers to work in the country.

Both sides hailed the positive developments in the bilateral relationship across all sectors, pledging to increase all-level delegation exchanges and contacts and effectively implement bilateral mechanisms and agreements./.