Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and his wife arrive in Hanoi on November 24, 2024. (Photo: VNA)

This is the first trip to Vietnam by a Bulgarian president in 11 years and the first to the Southeast Asian country by Mr. Radev since he took office in 2017.

The visit takes place amidst the robust development of bilateral relations across multiple sectors, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang.

The relationship began in 1950, when Bulgaria became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam.

The two countries have maintained regular delegation exchanges, particularly at high level, and closely coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums.

Two-way trade hit 200 million USD annually during  2021-2023, almost doubling the figure recorded in the 2019-2020 period.