Mr Hung emphasized this on April 16 during talks with his Bulgaria counterpart Tsetska Tsacheva, who is on an official visit to Vietnam from April 14-17.

The legislative chief expressed his admiration for Bulgaria’s achievements in its national construction and development.

He said the Vietnamese people are grateful for Bulgaria’s assistance during their wars for national independence and present cause of national construction and expressed his belief that Ms Tsacheva’s visit will create a breakthrough in the relations between the two legislative bodies.

Mr Hung said the Vietnam NA will do its utmost to constantly foster ties between the two nations for mutual benefit.

Vietnam is eager to boost cooperation with Bulgaria in all fields and create the most favourable conditions for the European country to strengthen ties with other ASEAN countries, he added.

Chairwoman Tsacheva highlighted the positive results of bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, education, national defence and security. She said the educational agreement will bring about more opportunities for Vietnamese students to study in Bulgaria and this will help further strengthen ties between both countries.

She said despite the impact of the global economic crisis, there’s plenty of opportunity for both nations to boost bilateral relations, especially in agriculture, energy, construction, foodstuffs, health care, and tourism.

Bulgaria is willing to become a gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter the EU market, she said.

During talks, both NA leaders briefed each other on their own countries’ socioeconomic situation and external relations. They agreed to boost cooperation to facilitate the implementation of joint programs and projects.

Both sides said they will maintain the exchange of high-ranking delegations to share experience in legislation and supervision and promote mutual understanding between parliamentarians.

The two NAs will work closely together to supervise the implementation of agreements and cooperation programs between the two governments, while supporting each other at international forums.

After the talks, Mr Hung and Ms Tsachev signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening ties between the two NAs, which is a legal basis for developing legislative cooperation.

They also witnessed the signing of cooperation documents between Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence and Bulgaria’s State Commission on Information Security and between Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Science.