Deputy Minister Georgiev Receives Newly Appointed Argentine Ambassador
23 July 2020 News
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev received copies of the letters of accreditation of the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic, Alfredo Néstor Atanasof, who is of Bulgarian origin.
Georg Georgiev and Ambassador Atanasof praised relations between Bulgaria and Argentina, stressing the role of the more than 45 000 Argentine nationals of Bulgarian origin in promoting friendship between the two nations.
“More than 160 works by Argentine authors have been translated in Bulgaria since 2010, making Bulgarian the fourth language in which Argentine literature is the most widely translated,” Ambassador Atanasof said.
The two diplomats discussed the two countries’ options for strengthening their trade and economic relations, including in spheres such as tourism and agriculture, and the successful cooperation between Bulgaria and Argentina in the fields of culture and education.
Deputy Minister Georgiev commented on the economic impact of COVID-19 and on the challenges stemming from the coronavirus. In this context he expressed appreciation for Argentina’s assistance to Bulgaria and Bulgarian nationals during the pandemic. “We had several consular cases involving Bulgarians in distress in Argentina. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to thank your country for helping us to evacuate our compatriots,” Georg Georgiev said.
The two diplomats exchanged views on the preparatory process for accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the finalizing of negotiations on an association agreement between the EU and the South American trading block MERCOSUR, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Ambassador Alfredo Néstor Atanasof thanked Deputy Minister Georgiev and Bulgaria for the warm welcome and expressed his readiness for fruitful cooperation on a wide range of issues of mutual interest in the future.