Minister Nikolay Milkov gave a briefing for the media representatives

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to work actively on the established priorities of the Bulgarian foreign policy, including defending the peace and security of the country in the conditions of severe crisis near our borders, protecting the interests of Bulgaria, our compatriots and Bulgarian communities abroad, active participation in the EU and NATO, as well as building good neighbourly relations based on cooperation. This is what Minister Nikolay Milkov said at a media briefing held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the briefing, a brief overview of the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recent months was given. Deputy Minister and spokesman Kostadin Kodzhabashev and Director of the Situation Centre Directorate in the Ministry Tanya Dimitrova were also participants. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs provided an update on the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens in Sudan, stressing that it was finally completed this morning. A crisis headquarters was formed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor and assist the evacuation of the Bulgarian citizens around the clock. 34 people have been evacuated from Sudan and three have refused evacuation.  Initially, 31 Bulgarian citizens requested evacuation and the number increased to 37 in the last hours of 24 and 25 April.

‘The evacuation was carried out by land and by aircraft of the partner countries of Bulgaria. By land, the evacuation routes are to the Egyptian border and the town of Port Sudan,’ said Tanya Dimitrova, director of the Situation Centre Directorate at the Ministry.  It was stressed that in view of the worsened hygiene and epidemiological situation in Sudan, as well as the fact that one of the warring groups has taken control of the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum, where dangerous pathogens are stored, the Situation Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Clinic of Infectious Diseases of the Military Medical Academy, has organized examinations of the arriving Bulgarian citizens. 

It was also recalled that the first evacuated Bulgarians from Sudan arrived in Bulgaria yesterday and two more are expected to arrive on a flight from Berlin this evening. Six Bulgarian citizens were transported to Frankfurt, four were flown by the Swedish Air Force to Djibouti. Due to the fact that two of them have expired documents, a conversation has been held with the French consulate in the city, where they will be issued an Emergency Travel Document for departure.  Tanya Dimitrova added that three of our compatriots have been evacuated to Saudi Arabia and 16 have crossed into Egypt.  Regarding the Bulgarian citizens who refused evacuation, it was explained that most of our compatriots living in Sudan are in mixed marriages and stayed to take care of their relatives.

In the framework of the overview of the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recent months, Minister Milkov focused on the successful organisation of the early parliamentary elections abroad on 2 April, which involved significant human and material resources. Election papers and voting materials were delivered on time. 737 polling stations were opened — 245 of them with machine voting, in 61 countries, where over 185 thousand of our compatriots voted. It was also noted that out of 4,150 members of the Section Election Commission (SIK), 737 were seconded from Bulgaria.

The efforts to resume the work of the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Odessa, where the largest Bulgarian historical community abroad is concentrated, were highlighted. The stated readiness of our country to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine was also underlined, as well as the active participation in the coordination of the 10^th EU sanctions package against Russia. 

Priority efforts regarding Southeastern Europe, including connectivity, diversification of energy supplies and protection of the interests of Bulgarian communities and persons with Bulgarian identity, were also in the focus of the briefing.  Minister Milkov highlighted the systematic defence of the legitimate rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia, the response to attempts to violate them, as well as the counteraction against the ongoing hate campaign against Bulgaria and Bulgarians, which has escalated in recent months.

‘Despite the deteriorated situation, we continued to work for a positive atmosphere and de-escalation, focusing our efforts on priority projects of strategic importance with the Republic of North Macedonia,’ said Nikolay Milkov. In his words, Bulgaria actively uses international mechanisms to inform about the problems with the rights of people with Bulgarian identity in the neighbouring country.

Accession to the Schengen area and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development were also highlighted as key priorities for our country.  The Minister pointed out that an active political dialogue is being conducted with the European Commission, the Swedish Presidency and the EU Member States with the aim of joining Schengen by the end of this year. The dynamic contacts with Austria have already had concrete results, as a pilot project for an accelerated asylum and return procedure has been launched in coordination with the EC, and the proposal to reinforce the Bulgarian-Turkish border with EU funding has received universal support.

‘The intensive talks and meetings with the Netherlands also continued, in the framework of which a common approach was crystallised on the ways for the Netherlands to conduct a review of Bulgaria's achievements in the area of the rule of law,’ Nikolay Milkov said. Emphasis was also put on the consultations held with key partners such as Germany and France on issues related to strengthening border control and migration management. Bulgaria is included in the scope of the EU Regulation on the digitalisation of the visa process in the Schengen area and can start issuing digital visas simultaneously and in the same format with all Schengen countries.

‘In early 2023, the actual part of the OECD accession talks has started. The technical reviews carried out by 25 committees of the Organization are underway,’ Minister Milkov noted. The high appreciation of the achievements of the caretaker government so far and its clear commitment to join the Organisation by OECD Secretary General Matthias Cormann during his visit to Sofia on 4 April this year was also highlighted.