Bulgarian, Vietnamese PMs meet to boost ties

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung on Friday agreed to speed up bilateral relations, especially economic ties.

Borissov said at a joint press conference that he's not satisfied with the annual volume of trade between the two countries, which stood below 100 million U.S. dollars.

"I hope after today's meeting we will have better results," Borissov said.

At the meeting, the two leaders discussed tourism, information technologies, energy, culture, sports and education, Borissov said.

Dung said the visit coincided with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On behalf of the Vietnamese government and people, Dung expressed gratitude for the assistance Bulgaria provided to Vietnam during its struggle for national independence and also in the process of development of the country.

In particular, he said that Vietnam will create favorable conditions for Bulgarian investments in Vietnam, especially in the areas for which Bulgaria is particularly strong, such as urban planning, biotechnology, agriculture and health, information and communication technologies and environmental protection.

In the presence of the two prime ministers, representatives of the two countries signed agreements on enhancing cooperation in justice, and preventing and combating crime, as well sister city memorandums between Sofia Municipality and Ho Chi Minh City, and between Rousse Municipality and Can Tho City. Endit