General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam (2nd) and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly (1st), and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (3rd) and his spouse Desislava Radeva at the official welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese leader on the morning of October 23 in Sofia. (Photo: VNA)

Following the introduction of the members of both delegations, General Secretary Lam and President Radev reviewed the guard of honor.

President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and General Secretary To Lam inspect the guard of honor. (Photo: Van Hieu/VOV)

Immediately after the ceremony, the Vietnamese leader and his spouse, their Bulgarian counterparts, and the Vietnamese delegation, laid a wreath at the monument to the unknown soldiers to pay tribute to them.

Vietnam and Bulgaria established diplomatic relations on February 8, 1950, with Bulgaria being one of the first countries to recognise and establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam.
General Secretary To Lam and his wife and President Rumen Radev and his wife on the podium of honor. (Photo: Van Hieu/VOV)

The visit takes place as the two nations celebrate the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. It provides an opportunity for the high-ranking leaders of the two countries to review the achievements in bilateral relations and set out strategic orientations for the future, with the aim of elevating the traditional friendship to new heights.

Cooperation is expected to be deepened particularly in areas where Bulgaria has strengths and Vietnam has demand, such as information technology, quantum technology, artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, green transition, and biomedical sciences.