Annual meeting of the Ambassadors of the Republic of Bulgaria
24 July 2014 News
The strategic objective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to conduct active but prudent foreign policy based on the Bulgarian national interests and the European and Euro-Atlantic values in order to establish a favorable external environment for the development and prosperity of the Bulgarian nation. The foreign policy of the Republic of Bulgaria is the powerful tool to defend and implement the political, economic and cultural interests of the country abroad and to protect the rights of Bulgarian citizens, communities and legal entities abroad. This was my main goal during this one years as Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Kristian Vigenin at the opening of the annual meeting with the Ambassadors of the Republic of Bulgaria, which takes place on 24-25 July.
Minister Vigenin presented to diplomats the main activities of the Ministry in the implementation of the foreign policy priorities of the government. He emphasized that during the last year an active bilateral political dialogue was held at all levels with EU Member States in Central and Western Europe. ,,The lack of such dialogue was one of the identified deficits which we to a great extent fixed and I hope to keep up the pace in the future,” the Foreign Minister said. He pointed out the continued upward development of the relations with the United States, preserving the communication with the Russian Federation, and the strong dynamics in the relations with China and Vietnam.
According to Kristian Vigenin among the main goals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to fully participate in the formulation and implementation of EU policies on key issues for the Union and Bulgaria. There were constant efforts to defend Bulgaria’s position on the principles of redistribution of the total budget, he said. Bulgaria also actively and successfully participated in the EU’s Eastern Partnership policy. In the past year our goal was to restore the position of Bulgaria in Southeast Europe and the Black Sea region and to implement an effective regional policy. The political dialogue at various levels was intensified, including through visits at Foreign Ministers’ level in almost all countries of the region. The Bulgarian rotating Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) for the period January-June 2014 was successfully completed. Our proposal to take over the rotating presidency of the SEECP from July 2015 to June 2016 was also approved. In addition, the systematic support of Bulgaria for the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans continued, provided that the established European criteria are being met with particular emphasis on the principle of good neighborliness.
In the past year, the MFA has actively worked to ensure important, adequate and visible role of Bulgaria, not only regionally, but globally, and in particular with a view to the participation in the UN and other international organizations, said Minister Kristian Vigenin. According to him, the re-election of Irina Bokova as Director-General of UNESCO is a great success not only for her, but also for our country and the Bulgarian diplomacy.
The economization of foreign policy has been defined as a priority of the government and we have made a good start in that direction. We have tried to expand the activities of our diplomatic representations in favor of the economic development of our country and the Bulgarian business. As part of this activity, the State has provided assistance for guaranteeing a faster and cheaper procedure to issue Bulgarian tourist visas for non-EU nationals. A specialized External Relations Directorate was established at the MFA in order to carry out synergies on internal and interagency level, significantly improving the coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Energy.
Among the main priorities of the foreign policy has been the protection of the rights and interests of Bulgarian citizens abroad and supporting Bulgarian communities for the preservation and development of the Bulgarian identity, culture and spiritual values. During the period, particular attention was paid to the Bulgarian communities in Moldova and Ukraine.
The annual meeting of the Ambassadors of the Republic of Bulgaria is organized in the form of thematic panels that allow for the exchange of views on some key for our foreign policy issues, such as Southeastern Europe, the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia, Bulgarian nominations for international organizations, Bulgarian communities abroad, economic diplomacy. During the forum there will be an official address by the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Ministries of Culture, Education, Economy and Energy and the State Agency for the Bulgarians Abroad. Guest of honor is Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.
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