It is an old Bulgarian tradition - whenever something goes wrong here, the premier usually takes off for a “long-planned visit” to a remote country the next few days. Over the past week we’ve had the ongoing scandal with the defaulting energy distributing companies; at the same time the EC threatened Bulgaria with sanctions and ceasing of funding for different sins; the government kept wondering whom to please on the Ukrainian issue – the USA and the EU or Russia… and PM Plamen Oresharski with a whole bunch of ministers, businessmen and special media correspondents set off to Vietnam.

The visit kicked off with the unveiling of a Bulgarian restaurant in Hanoi, the only one in the capital city that will offer the traditional meals of this country. Some TV reports have already reminded the fact that this far away Asian country is fond of dog meat and not lamb or pork. Middle-aged Bulgarians recalled the 1980s, when thousands of Vietnamese studied and worked in Bulgaria – stray dogs happened to disappear quite fast back then…

The official part of the meeting started with scheduled meetings at the highest level. Oresharski spoke with PM of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung, Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng. The hosts wouldn’t miss the opportunity to express their gratitude to Bulgaria for the support at the fight against the Americans some 40 years ago. One can only guess the mixed feelings of PM Oresharski, a premier of a former communist country that has been a NATO member-state for over 10 years now, with US military forces allocated on its territory.

After all, the Bulgarian Premier followed the protocol. He told his hosts that Bulgaria would view Vietnam as a strategic partner in Southeast Asia, willing to strengthen its economic presence in that area. Furthermore: being an EU member-state, this country is ready to cooperate with Vietnam, regarding all its initiatives that concern the Union.

The visit of the Bulgarian delegation continued with the city of Danang, where a Bulgarian – Vietnamese business forum took place. Vietnam showed a clear interest to investments in farmland purchases here. As Monitor daily pointed out, the Vietnamese entrepreneurs showed no interest in “Bulgarian waffles and rifles”. The representatives of both branches were bored during the forum, although PM Oresharski had declared in advance that there were huge options for bilateral cooperation in the interior and defense spheres. The Bulgarian side showed interest in the development of tourism, the high-tech sphere and consultant services.

Now all we need is an expert in economy, clarifying the potential of a cooperation of that kind, involving a capitalist country still in crisis and a communist one, marking a two-digit annual economic growth.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev