HCM City: The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations and the Bulgarian Embassy in Vietnam on March 1 co-organised a ceremony to mark Bulgaria's National Day (March 3,1878-2024) in the southern metropolis. Addressing the event, Bulgarian Ambassador Pavlin Todorov stated that it is an act of preserving memories of Bulgaria in Vietnam, contributing to the development of the relationship between the two nations. The diplomat said the Vietnam-Bulgaria traditional friendship has been preserved and developed across various fields. In addition to strong political and diplomatic relations, their economic and trade ties have seen positive developments and still have plenty of room for improvement in the future. Potential areas for bilateral collaboration also include science and technology, energy, industry, agriculture, healthcare, information technology, tourism, education and training and locality-to-locality cooperation, he noted. People-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries pla y a crucial role in strengthening their relations, he added. In response, Chairwoman of the municipal Vietnam-Bulgaria Friendship Association Hoang Thai Lan said that the countries have a long-standing bond of friendship, as Bulgaria was one of the first ten countries in the world to recognise Vietnam's independence and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam on February 8, 1950. In 2013, they elevated their relations to a strategic partnership, opening up new opportunities for cooperation. Over the past 74 years, the governments and people of both countries have continuously nurtured the traditional friendship in various fields such as politics, diplomacy, culture, science, education, and security-defence, she remarked./. Source: Vietnam News Agency