Bulgaria Participated in the 45th ASEF Board of Directors Meeting in Bali
The 45th ASEF (Asia-Europe Foundation) Board of Directors meeting was held on the island of Bali, Indonesia, from July 10-12, 2024. The Bulgarian side was represented by the authorized representative Mrs. Tanya Dimitrova, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Indonesia, who was representing Mrs. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, the Director of the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and a member of the Board of Directors. The meeting was attended by 27 directors, 16 authorized representatives, and 9 directors who had sent written apologies for their inability to attend.
The board meeting began with welcoming remarks from ASEF Chairman Mr. Md Rais Hasan Sarower and ASEF Executive Director Ambassador Morikawa Toru. Ambassador Toru expressed his gratitude to the ASEF leadership and team for their efforts in organizing the 45th Board meeting, as well as to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia for their generous support in organizing the event. He introduced the newly appointed directors of the ASEF board, giving them the opportunity to present themselves, after which the agenda of the meeting was adopted.
The Chairman of the Asian Group presented the board with an update on the results of the Asian Forum, where Mr. Zhang Lei (China) was unanimously nominated for the position of Deputy Executive Director of ASEF.
At the European Group meeting, a vote was held to determine the European states' nomination for Executive Director of the Foundation, preceded by presentations from the candidates from Poland and Hungary. An interview was conducted with them, where they presented their management programs. The Polish candidate, Ambassador Beata Stuchinska, received the support.
The Spanish member of the Board presented to the European Group a project for opening a Foundation office in Europe to improve European-level cooperation on projects, proposing Spain's generous hosting and the provision of an office in Barcelona or Madrid free of charge. The Board members discussed the proposal and agreed that this topic should be further discussed after the new Executive Director of ASEF takes office. The European Group nominated Mr. Ioannis Giogkarakis-Argyropolos, the representative of the European Union, for the position of Vice-Chairman for 2024 and Mrs. Lone Thorup, the representative of Denmark, for the position of a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.
All nominations from the European Group were unanimously accepted at the Board meeting, and Ambassador Stuchinska was elected as the new Executive Director of the Foundation, with Mr. Zhang Lei as the next Deputy Executive Director.
The Executive Director presented a report on the management activities for the entire term and an update on ASEF's 3-year strategy. During the meeting, projects and topics in the fields of culture, education, public diplomacy, women's rights, and more were discussed.