Minister Zaharieva Thanks Envoys to Bulgaria For Efforts in 2018
13 December 2018 News
The heads of diplomatic missions of more than 60 countries accredited to Bulgaria attended the traditional reception for the diplomatic corps given by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva.
“I would like to thank each one of you for the support, advice, shared experiences, and your commitment to Bulgaria,” Minister Zaharieva said. “This was an important year for us. Many things happened in it either for the first time ever or for the first time after an interruption of many years.”
The Minister highlighted among these the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council. “This was definitely the cherry on the cake and was successful because we could feel your support not only during these six months, but also before that,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
Bulgarian diplomacy paid special attention to such regions as the Middle East and Africa during the year, the Minister said. “Among the foreign visits by the Bulgarian Prime Minister and President there were some that were the first ever in the history of Bulgarian diplomacy,” Zaharieva recalled and went on to add that the Bulgarian diplomatic service will mark its 140th anniversary in 2019.
At the same time, thanks to the Bulgarian efforts and the support of our partners and friends, our country was accepted as a member of important multilateral formats, Zaharieva recalled. “There were many of these, but I will only mention our election as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, which was achieved with the support of 180 or 188 attending member-states, our election as a member of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the full membership in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,” the Minister said. According to her, special recognition is due for Genoveva Tisheva’s successful election as member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
“In the past 50 weeks, I had the pleasure of receiving in Sofia 20 foreign ministers and to hold a total of 65 working and official meetings with counterparts from around the world. This amounts to more than one meeting per week,” Ekaterina Zharieva concluded. “Each one of us is aware of the number of people and the amount of work required for such a program, the Minister continued.
Zaharieva thanked her team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has demonstrated that Bulgarian diplomacy is not only well-trained, but also has the necessary experience.
More photos
