19 July – Day of the Diplomatic Service
20 July 2011 News
“I am always willing to believe in the good of people, to look and search their good intentions towards the others.” With these words of the Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov, the Minister of the Foreign Affairs Nickolay Mladenov addressed those who were present at the Day of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service – 19 July.
“The last year has been quite difficult for all of us. For me personally this will be an year in which we had to deal with many crises – starting with the crisis in Fukushima in Japan and all the way to the continuing tragic situation in Libya”, said Mladenov.
He further highlighted the historical events that we witnessed – the so called “Arab Spring” – “Perhaps the biggest event of this year was the Arab Spring, that led to a revolutionary change in the public relations of a region, strategically important not only for Bulgaria, but for whole Europe.”
“The year went along with other crises, that directly affected the daily life of many Bulgarian citizens and we had to deal with them very quickly.” continued Nickolay Mladenov.
“For us this was the first year of the European External Action Service. A year with a unique attempt of 27 and I hope soon 28 countries to create a common diplomatic service to deal with the rest of the world, to speak with one voice and to speak in a manner in which the position of Europe is heard”, stated Minister Mladenov.
This was an year in which Bulgaria had a much more active policy in the Middle East, creating new opportunities for Bulgarian citizens and companies. “There is a number of key events that need to be accounted for this year. First is the event Sofia Platform, which brought together politicians, NGOs, diplomats from across the Arab world to speak about the challenges of the Arab Spring. Among them were the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland. An extremely important event was the joint intergovernmental session between the governments of Bulgaria and the State of Israel in which we outlined a number of initiatives and opportunities in streamlining and developing strategic partnership.”
Of particular importance for Bulgaria is the region of the Western Balkans, whose integration in the European Union is a main priority for the state of Bulgaria, stated Mladenov. “I am particularly happy to see that this year we reached the decision that Croatia should be the next member of the European Union and hope that very soon we shall be able to ratify the accession treaty of Croatia, and Bulgaria will be one of the first countries to do so.” said Mladenov. “Bulgaria will continue to actively support Serbia on its road towards the European Union and we hope that by the end of this year there would be a positive report by the European Commission in which to welcome the beginning of negotiations with Serbia.”
Hopefully, if we all do our work correctly, next year will be the year of the Balkans in the European Union, pointed out Mladenov. This also means that our friends in the Republic of Macedonia should take the important decisions, in order to receive a date for start of negotiations with the European Union. The same applies to the Republic of Montenegro, we hope that very soon they will be moving forward on the agenda for accession. Mladenov also added: “I hope that the three very important countries: Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo will make progress in the reforms they need to implement during the next year, so that we can see the citizens of these countries feel the positive impulse of moving forward towards the European Union.”
As a symbolic year for all people in Europe, but in particular for the Balkans, Minister Mladenov pointed out the year 2014. It would be a hundred years since the beginning of World War I that started here on the Balkans. “I hope that we will all understand the symbolism of the hundred years since the beginning of World War I and celebrate the achievements of Europe since then, commemorate those, who have lost their lives in the wars of Europe and find strength in us to support an initiative, that Bulgaria will be putting forward, and that is to make Sarajevo European Capital of Culture in 2014.”
The year was particularly difficult, because of the initiated reforms in the Ministry. “I hope that everyone will accept my gratitude for helping our team to move forward on the agenda that brings our diplomatic service in closer alignment with the best practices in Europe and particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.”
“I hope that, people like Yordan Yovkov would inspire us and we would search for inspiration in many Bulgarian diplomats, who not only then, but also today work to protect the interests of the Bulgarian citizens and the interests of Bulgaria”, concluded Minister Nickolay Mladenov.
The Day of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service gathered in the garden of the Ministry diplomats, representatives of the Diplomatic corps, the Presidents of the Republic Dr. Zhelyu Zhelev (1990-1997) and Petar Stoyanov (1997 - 2002) and many other guests. Especially for the children of diplomats and guests, a distinct area was assigned, in which they showed their playing and drawing skills with the professional assistance of students from the Art School “Prof. Iliya Petrov” and the National Art Academy “Nikolay Pavlovich”. There was also a jazz band from the National School of Music “Lubomir Pipkov”. On the Day of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service Mladenov awarded several people from the staff of the Ministry, for their demonstrated professionalism.