Opening of the IX Winter School in Diplomacy
18 March 2014 News.JPG)
The ninth edition of the International Seminar "Winter School in Diplomacy" was opened on 17 March in Sandanski. The Diplomatic Institute in cooperation with Hanns Seidel Foundation, Germany, is the organizer of the event. The theme of the seminar is "Policies of the EU and NATO in SouthEast Europeand the Black Sea region: foreign policy, security and energy". This year the "Winter School in Diplomacy" is part of the program of events, organized by the Bulgarian state under the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.34 young diplomats from 19 countries participate in the seminar, and along with the participants from the Balkans and the Black Sea countries, representatives from all EU Member States are invited.
The seminar was opened by Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Diplomatic Institute and H.E.Matthias Höpfner, Ambassador of Germany to Bulgaria. Among the participants were also by Dr. Klaus Fiesinger, Sector Manager for South East Europe of Hanns Seidel Foundation,Bogdan Mirchev, Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Bulgaria,and Ambassador Ivan Stanchov, Chairman of the National Advisory Board of the DI.
After the official opening, Dimosthenis Stoidis, Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Bulgaria, outlined the priorities of Greece during its EU presidency. After his brief lecture, the participants had the opportunity to listen to the representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation – Kiril Tretiak , Secretary General , and Svilen Kraichev, Deputy Secretary General of the organization. They presented the current developments of the BSEC and the activities carried out in honor of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of its Parliamentary Assembly. .
Speakers at the five-day seminar will be also diplomats from the Foreign Ministry, Bulgarian and foreign experts, and moderator of the discussion will be the director of the European Academy in Berlin, Prof. Eckart Stratenschulte. The program of the Winter School of Diplomacy covers topics, related to the regional policy and European integration, enlargement, sharing experience, NATO's presence in South East Europe, and particular attention will be paid to energy issues. In the focus of the discussion is also the dynamic situation in Ukraine and its impact on Europe and the Black Sea region.
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