On November 26. 2024, within the framework of his official visit to Vietnam, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and a delegation of Bulgarian high ranking leaders and businesses visited and worked with the leaders of Hai Phong city. The visit took place in the context that the two countries are looking forward to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Bulgaria 08/02/1950-08/02/2025) to further consolidate and enhance the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting with President Rumen Radev, Hai Phong City Party Secretary Le Tien Chau shared about the cooperative relationship between Hai Phong and Bulgaria. The Vietnam - Bulgaria Friendship Association of Hai Phong city has 12 branches and one Center with about 540 members. Over the past 20 years, the Vietnam - Bulgaria Friendship Association has had many vibrant and diverse activities, becoming a bridge between the people of Hai Phong and the people of Bulgaria, actively contributing to fostering the traditional relationship between the two countries. Regarding economic cooperation, in 2023, Hai Phong's export turnover to Bulgaria reached 0.38 million USD; Bulgaria's import turnover to Hai Phong reached 9.26 million USD...
Secretary of the City Party Committee Le Tien Chau introduced to the President and the Bulgarian delegation the city’s potentials, advantages, and outstanding achievements. Hai Phong is one of the five centrally-run cities, has a particularly important strategic position in terms of economy and is the economic locomotive of the northern region of Vietnam. The city has all five types of transportation: road, rail, inland waterway, sea, air, and the largest seaport system in the North of Vietnam, capable of receiving ships up to 145,000 tons and directly connecting to ports in Europe and America.
Expressing his great impression when visiting and working in Hai Phong City, a city with a strong development speed in Vietnam, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev affirmed that Bulgaria always cherishes the good traditional friendship between the two countries. During his visit to Hai Phong City this time, President Rumen Radev hoped that Hai Phong would exchange development experiences in both traditional and modern fields; the city's experience in attracting investment, solving related issues when developing fast but still maintaining and developing the core values of the nation. President Rumen Radev hopes that the two sides will have specific cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as trade, investment, education-training, science and technology, etc., contributing to promoting the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Bulgaria to become deeper and more effective.