site.btaNational Assembly Chair Zhelyazkov's Official Visit to Vietnam Begins

A Bulgarian parliamentary delegation, headed by National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov, arrived on a January 6-9 official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, Bulgaria's Parliament said on Friday.

The parliamentary delegation was welcomed in Hanoi by Vietnam’s National Assembly Vice Chair Nguyen Duc Hai, Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Vu Hai Ha, and the Chair of the Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Group in the Vietnamese Parliament, Don Tuan Phong.

Zhelyazkov thanked for the warm welcome and stressed that the Bulgarian delegation’s visit is an expression of this country's desire to further strengthen the friendly relations with Vietnam and build a strategic partnership in the spirit of the 2013 Joint Declaration. He expressed his satisfaction with the fruitful visit of his Vietnamese counterpart Vuong Dinh Hue to Bulgaria in September 2023.

The delegation’s visit will open with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument Commemorating Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi. Also on Saturday, the Bulgarian MPs will visit the Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh and will lay a wreath at the memorial complex. The delegation is expected to confer with Doan Minh Huan, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Secretary of the Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee.

On January 7, Zhelyazkov and his delegation will confer with Nguyen Xuan Ky, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, at the Provincial Party Committee headquarters.

Later on, the visiting lawmakers will hold a meeting with the Bulgarian community in Hanoi, organized by the Bulgarian Embassy and the Vietnam-Bulgaria Friendship Association, with the participation of members of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Group. At a formal ceremony, Zhelyazkov will present awards to prominent individuals for services to the advancement of bilateral relations.
 
Bulgaria's National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov and his delegation will be formally welcomed at Vietnam's Parliament on January 8, when Bulgarian and Vietnamese MPs will open official talks. Hue is expected to invite his counterpart to the Traditional Chamber, where the head of Bulgaria's Parliament will sign the Golden Book of Official Guests. Next, the two legislature leaders will hold a one-to-one session. 

At the end of the plenary talks between the two delegations, Kazanlak Municipality Mayor Galina Stoyanova and a representative of Vientam's Lai Chau Province are to sign an agreement.

On the same day, Bulgaria's National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov is expected to confer with the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, with Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and with Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong.

On January 9, Zhelyazkov will confer with Vietnam National University (VNU) President Le Quan and with the leadership of the higher educational establishment. The head of Bulgaria's Parliament will deliver a lecture before VNU students.

The Bulgarian delegation includes Labour, Social and Demographic Policy Committee Chair Denitsa Sacheva MP of GERB-UDF, Defence Committee Chair Hristo Gadzhev MP of GERB-UDF, Economic Policy and Innovation Committee Chair Hamid Hamid MP of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Direct Participation of Citizens and Interaction with Civil Society Committee Chair Valentin Tonchev MP of MRF, Culture and Media Committee Deputy Chair and Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Group Chair Stoyan Mihalev MP of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Group Deputy Chair Borislav Gutsanov MP of BSP for Bulgaria, Neli Dimitrova MP of CC-DB, Tsvetan Predov MP of There Is Such a People, Angel Georgiev MP of Vazrazhdane, Alexander Valchev MP of There Is Such a People, and Kazanlak Mayor Galina Stoyanova.