Two agreements between the governments of the two countries and a memorandum for parliamentary cooperation were signed during the first day of the official visit in Vietnam of the President of the National Assembly Mrs. Tsetska Tsacheva. The Bulgarian parliamentary delegation is on official visit to Hanoi at the invitation of the President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Mr. Nguyen Sinh Hung. Besides members of the parliament the delegation includes the Minister of Education, Youth and Science Mr. Sergey Ignatov, the President of the State Committee on Information Security Ms. Tsveta Markova and the Deputy Interior Minister Mr. Veselin Vuchkov.
The transformation of the traditionally good friendly relations between Bulgaria and Vietnam in a strategic partnership and the concrete steps of development of the cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, healthcare, trade and tourism were emphasized during the plenary talks of the Bulgarian parliamentarians and the President of the SR of Vietnam’s National Assembly Mr. Nguyen Sinh Hung. The two parties were categorical that the knowledge of the 30 000 Vietnamese who received their education in Bulgaria should be used in order to reach these goals. Many of those educated in Bulgaria occupy currently high level positions in the state, which at present has one of the most dynamic economies in the world. The membership of Bulgaria in the European Union reveals new opportunities for mutually beneficial partnership in the framework of the stronger cooperation between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ACEM - that was the main topic reiterated by the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation during the meetings with the President of Vietnam Mr. Truong Tan Sang and with the Prime Minister Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung.
During the official talks and at several occasions it was stressed that the important moment in the new bilateral cooperation is the signing of two intergovernmental agreements and a memorandum. One of the agreements signed is in the field of education for the period 2012-2016 and the other is for mutual protection of the classified information. A Memorandum for Cooperation was signed between the legislatures of the two countries.
The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for Mutual Protection and Exchange of Classified Information will help the development of the bilateral economic relations, allowing Vietnamese companies to take part in public procurement tenders held by Bulgarian ministries and institutions and vice versa. Taking into account the particularly strong economic dialogue between the two countries in the last years and the mutual interest expressed by individual economic subjects to establish steady economic connections the State Commission on Information Security has undertaken the necessary steps for the preparation and signing of the said agreement. The signing of the contract was necessary because the exchange of classified information according to the Bulgarian legislation requires a bilateral contract between the parties. The agreement regulates the legal framework of the exchange and the protection of information in all social spheres.
The signed Agreement for Cooperation in the field of Education between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education and Training of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the period 2012-2016 is in implementation of the intergovernmental Agreement for Cooperation in the fields of Culture, Science and Education between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the SR of Vietnam. The document stipulates the number of exchange students, doctor’s degree fellows, teachers and specialists to be accepted by the two countries and measures to encourage the direct cooperation between universities and the ways to finance it. The document is proof of the increased interest in Bulgaria towards the Vietnamese science and culture and helps the development of the academic exchange between the two countries. It contributes to the preservation of the long standing relations, the enhancement and deepening of the bilateral relations in the field of education and science in the context of the new realities and the membership of Bulgaria in the European Union.