Vice President of Bulgaria Iliana Iotova speaking at the workshop (Photo: VNA)

This activity was organized by the Vietnamese Embassy, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh Museum, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Bulgaria in August 1957 and the 67th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

To organize the exhibition, officials of the Ho Chi Minh Museum brought to Sofia many precious photos and documents, including works from the archive of the Vietnam News Agency.

In addition, documents were also provided by the Bulgarian side such as the National Assembly, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Central Committee of the Socialist Party, National Archives, group of Member of Parliament friendly with Vietnam, Bulgaria-Vietnam Friendship Association, administrations of the capital Sofia and some other localities.

The exhibition introduced President Ho Chi Minh's historic visit to Bulgaria on August 13th - 17th, 1957; the cause of building and defending the nation of the Vietnamese people in the 20th and early 21st centuries, through introduction of Uncle Ho's revolutionary career; and ancient maps on Vietnam’s sea and islands.

The workshop on President Ho Chi Minh also included two parts, including "President Ho Chi Minh - National liberation hero and distinguished culturalist” and "67 years of Vietnam - Bulgaria relations."

Speaking at the event, Vice President Iliana Iotova said that her mother witnessed the visit to Bulgaria by President Ho Chi Minh 60 years ago. She and people of her generation very much respected and admired the leader of the Vietnamese people for his humility and simplicity of a great personality. He spent most of his time in Bulgaria to meet people, visit kindergartens, schools and farms.

"On January 14th, 1950, from the Viet Bac war zone, President Ho Chi Minh sent a message to the people around the world that the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was ready to establish diplomatic relations with any government that respects the right to equality, territory sovereignty and national sovereignty of Vietnam. Responding to the message of President Ho Chi Minh, less than a month later, on February 8th, 1950 Bulgaria was one of the first 10 countries in the world to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam," Ambassador Nguyen Thi Hong Oanh emphasized in the speech themed "President Ho Chi Minh, who laid foundation for the Vietnam - Bulgaria friendship".

During the workshop, Vietnamese and Bulgarian scholars and delegates discussed the bilateral diplomatic-commercial-cultural relationship, the way to strengthen the friendship between peoples through social organizations, as well as highlight achievements of the renovation cause in Vietnam in recent years./.

BL