Party General Secretary To Lam and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Sofia, Bulgaria, October 23, 2025.

At talks in Sofia, the two leaders agreed to make economic, trade, and investment cooperation a central pillar of the strategic partnership, and pledged favorable conditions for businesses from both countries to operate in each other’s markets.

They agreed to vigorously promote trade and investment by opening their markets to each other and making full use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), with the goal of doubling bilateral trade in the coming years. They expressed readiness to serve as a “gateway” for Vietnamese and Bulgarian goods to access the ASEAN and EU markets. 

Both sides also agreed to step up cooperation in areas such as United Nations peacekeeping, cybersecurity, and military medicine.

They voiced support for ASEAN’s stance on ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, and on resolving disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).