On the 15^th of January 2024, at the invitation of the South African side, a meeting took place between Ambassador Maria Pavlova and the South African Deputy Minister of Tourism Mr Fish Mahlalela. It happened in the context of the Bulgarian Embassy’s participation in the Christmas charity initiative, organised by Deputy Minister Mahlalela in Mpumalanga Province.

Deputy Minister Mahlalela thanked the Bulgarian Ambassador for the Embassy’s contribution in the charity initiative in Mpumalanga and spoke about the traditionally friendly relations between Bulgaria and South Africa, which offer good foundation for deepening of the bilateral relations. They both agreed that it is necessary to increase the exchange of information about the existing potential in the tourist sector, aiming at identifying concrete projects and opportunities of common interest.

During the meeting, they discussed opportunities to promote contacts and cooperation between Bulgarian and South African institutions of higher education in the field of agrarian sciences and crop production. Ambassador Pavlova assured her collocutor that the Bulgarian universities have capacity and programmes in these particular fields and that the Embassy will do the necessary for exploring the interest in such collaboration.