Address by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitar Glavchev on the occasion of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service Day and the 145th anniversary of its foundation

ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIMITAR GLAVCHEV ON THE OCCASION OF THE BULGARIAN DIPLOMATIC SERVICE DAY — 19 JULY, AND THE 145TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDATION

MR PRESIDENT, 

MADAM VICE-PRESIDENT,

YOUR HOLINESS,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, 

YOUR EXCELLENCIES, MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS AND FRIENDS OF BULGARIA,

DEAR COLLEAGUES AND GUESTS,

I have the honour and pleasure to welcome you on the occasion of the celebration of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service - the 145th anniversary of its foundation was marked on 19 July. For all of us, this is a day of reflection, pride and tribute to the work of generations of Bulgarian politicians and diplomats who have served our homeland faithfully to make it a sought-after and respected international partner.

Our diplomatic service was established in 1879, at a time when Bulgaria was establishing itself as a free and sovereign nation, after centuries of foreign oppression. By his Decree, Prince Alexander Battenberg appointed the first Bulgaria diplomatic representatives abroad — in Bulgaria's immediate neighbourhood: in Türkiye, Romania and Serbia. A century and a half later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our diplomatic service, with its network of over 100 diplomatic and consular missions and permanent representations to international organizations and more than 90 honorary consuls around the world, with dignity and selfless motivation defends the interests and authority of Bulgaria on the international stage.

We can confidently say that our diplomacy has always been at the ‘centre of events’ when it has had to defend our national interests and foreign policy priorities, defend the rights of our compatriots abroad and develop relations of friendship and cooperation with our neighbours, as well as the numerous partnerships with countries in Europe and beyond. Bulgarian diplomats have always worked for the benefit of the homeland both in war and peace, dealing with threats and challenges, seeking the optimal solutions. Today Bulgaria is firmly and unwaveringly on the side of the rule of law, peace, free development, ethnic and religious tolerance, which are also values of the Euro-Atlantic community, embodied by the EU and NATO.

I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the ‘veterans’ present here who have worked for many years in our Diplomatic Service and have contributed to its success. We are proud of you, wish you good health and rely on your knowledge and experience!

Today, we are witnessing the growing strength of the role of diplomacy — in an increasingly fragmented and divided world of competition, rivalry, parallel crises and conflicts, and a dynamically changing international environment. The ongoing wars in the vicinity of Bulgaria — in Ukraine and the Middle East, the changing geopolitical realities, along with climate change, globalization, the rapid development of new technologies, threats in the field of cybersecurity put the future of our planet and the future generations to a serious test.

As caretaker Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, my priority was to ensure a stable and sustainable executive that successfully leads our country through crises and challenges through predictability, openness and consistency in our foreign policy.

One of the main tasks we have tackled was to hold fair and transparent elections abroad. The challenge this year was ‘twofold’, because on 9 June a two-in-one vote was held — both for the European Parliament and an early vote for the composition of the Bulgarian National Assembly. With the active assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 769 polling stations were established outside the country in 60 countries where our compatriots were able to exercise their constitutional right to vote. I can say with satisfaction that the vote abroad, despite the difficulties we had to overcome, went normally and without any violations.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for organizing the voting abroad, to the staff of our and other agencies, seconded as members of the CEC abroad, as well as to the colleagues from our diplomatic and consular missions and the Bulgarian communities abroad for their efforts for the successful preparation and conduct of the election day.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

The caretaker government strictly adheres to the Euro-Atlantic choice of our country as a responsible and active member of the European Union and NATO. Bulgaria continued its constructive engagement within the two alliances, in taking decisions and measures in response to the contemporary challenges to our common security and the prosperity of our citizens.

For nearly two and a half years now, the horror and humanitarian tragedy caused by Russia's aggression against a sovereign and democratic Ukraine has continued north-east of our borders. Along with the hostilities, the negative consequences for regional and international security continue to deepen. From the very beginning of the war Bulgaria has unreservedly supported all collective measures within the EU and NATO to repel the aggressor, to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. This is not the first time we have said that in its self-defence Ukraine is defending not only its freedom and sovereignty, but also the principles of international law and the values on which democratic Europe is built. Bulgaria will continue its multidimensional support to Ukraine — diplomatic, humanitarian, political, military, socio-economic, including efforts to prepare the country's reconstruction with an emphasis on cooperation in key areas.

Recently I had the honour to represent Bulgaria at the NATO Summit in Washington on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Alliance. One of the most important outcomes of the forum was the confirmation that Ukraine's path towards NATO membership is irreversible. A substantial new package of assistance to Ukraine was approved and the commitment to long-term military support, training of Ukrainian servicemen, measures to strengthen air defence, new bilateral security agreements and enhanced work on interoperability was reaffirmed.

Bulgaria plays a key role in the decisions and measures NATO takes to enhance the security and resilience of allies and partners in the Black Sea region. In this context, I would like to mention our hosting of the Second Conference on Security in the Black Sea within the International Crimean Platform, which we held in Sofia on 15 April this year. We also actively participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference held on 11–12 June in Berlin, as well as President Zelensky’s High-Level Peace Formula Conference in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 15–16 June 2024.

In the framework of the European agenda, Bulgaria constructively supported the negotiation of the negotiating frameworks for the launch of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and the holding of the first EU intergovernmental conferences with the two countries on 25 June this year. Bulgaria appreciates the transformative strategic role of the EU enlargement policy in ensuring stability, security, socio-economic prosperity, the irreversibility of democratic reforms and an environment guaranteeing respect for European values and the rule of law. We also actively support Georgia's European perspective.

Turning to the Middle East — you know that our country strongly condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, supporting Israel's right to self-defence, in accordance with international law. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza for almost 9 months, we support the initiative of the Arab countries, the US and the UN to de-escalate, immediately ceasefire, release the hostages, address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and prevent the conflict from spreading in the region. Together with other like-minded partners, we support the comprehensive roadmap presented by US President Biden, which envisages achieving the stated goals in three stages. We believe that sustainable peace in the Middle East and the security of the peoples living there, including Israelis and Palestinians, are possible on the basis of a solution based on the principle of ‘two states’ living together in peace, under the auspices of the United Nations, as the only option for a long-term settlement.

It is an irrevocable priority for us, taking into account the geographical position of our country, to be a good and predictable neighbour and partner, striving to ensure a favourable environment of security and stability in the SEE and Black Sea region. Maintaining good neighbourly relations of cooperation and connectivity with our neighbours is a fundamental long-term goal of our proactive bilateral and regional diplomacy. We continue our consistent commitment to support the European integration process of the Western Balkan countries, with the principle of own merits leading the way in achieving progress in the process, respect for the rule of law and sustainability of the reforms. We consistently defend and guarantee the rights and interests of Bulgarian citizens, Bulgarian communities and people with Bulgarian identity abroad. Bulgarians abroad are an integral part of our common national belonging and sense of national identity.

In this context, guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia is of paramount importance to us. We maintain our consistent position that the start of the negotiations of the Republic of North Macedonia for accession to the EU should be based on the agreements reached at the EU level and those reached bilaterally since July 2022. This includes, in addition to the effective implementation of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Neighbourhood and Cooperation and the protocols of the meetings of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission under Article 12 of the Treaty, as well as the inclusion in the Republic of North Macedonia’s Constitution of Bulgarians on an equal footing with other communities and their equal treatment as citizens of the country.

Systematic and pragmatic work continues on the implementation of our immediate priorities in the short term to join Schengen (land borders) and the Eurozone. These two priorities are directly oriented towards increasing the well-being and the stable development prospects of the Bulgarian citizens and society.

We also continued our active work on our country’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — our strategic foreign policy priority. Bulgaria is in the intensive phase of technical reviews conducted by the OECD Thematic Committees in cooperation with Bulgarian authorities. I believe that our active actions to complete the accession process in a short time will be successful and will lead to important national reforms in the field of good governance, which will give Bulgaria a worthy place in the club of the most developed countries in the world. In this context, we are also conducting active economic diplomacy aimed at the realization of our country's key interests in the commercial, economic and social spheres, in cooperation with the line ministries.

We also pay primary attention to deepening our bilateral strategic partnerships with neighbouring and European countries, as well as with our partners outside the European continent, with whom we share common values, interests and goals in the field of security, energy, sustainable development, environmental protection, etc.

We are also seeking to develop the many traditional, as well as new pragmatic and mutually beneficial partnerships, with countries in other regions that are aspiring to a growing regional and global role, many of which are associated with the so-called ‘Global South’, for all the conventionality with which we use that term.

Together with the overwhelming majority of the UN Member States, Bulgaria is convinced that the most pressing issues on the agenda of humanity, such as global peace and security, sustainable development, the fight against climate change, the energy and food crisis, global health, the fight against terrorism and illegal migration, etc., can be successfully addressed through enhanced multilateral cooperation with the UN playing a leading role. Our country also contributes in this area with its successful representation in a number of bodies and international organisations. Our contribution is now particularly visible through our membership of the Human Rights Council.

Another topical national priority is the development of capabilities to counter disinformation and hybrid threats, in line with EU and NATO policies in this area. We are subjected to foreign propaganda and foreign interference that aim to undermine our democracy and institutions. The risks are multiplied by the development of challenges in cyberspace and the use of artificial intelligence.

The answer to these challenges, in my view, is the development of new capabilities and capacities in the field of digital diplomacy.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

In order to continue successfully fulfilling its tasks against the backdrop of the above-mentioned growing challenges and high societal expectations, Bulgaria needs to have a professionally trained, resourced, highly qualified and effective Diplomatic Service as part of the system for strengthening and protecting our national security. I am convinced that in today's complex world, peace and negotiation require increased capacity and resources. Bulgarian diplomacy should modernise and upgrade itself, in step with the trends of the times and technological innovations, to be able to motivate, attract and retain prepared young people ready to serve the high cause called Bulgaria. I urge all of you who are here to actively assist the MFA in this regard.

In conclusion, let me make a special address to the colleagues in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without whose dedication in their daily work it would not be possible to implement the priorities that we have set ourselves, including those that were enshrined in our first draft Foreign Policy Strategy. I greatly appreciate your work and thank you for your professionalism and extraordinary efforts, often at the cost of sacrificing personal time and attention to those closest to you. Your selfless dedication and service are the foundation of Bulgaria's foreign relations. I am grateful that you see your work as a duty and a vocation and not as a formal duty. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to your families, whose support to you is indispensable in carrying out your responsible tasks.

I would also like to thank here for the cooperation and invaluable support we receive from our international partners. I address the ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to our country: we appreciate your professional work for the benefit of bilateral relations and partnerships with the countries you represent. Your friendship and contributions have always been essential to our success. We look forward to continuing our journey together towards a more peaceful and prosperous world!

DEAR COLLEAGUES AND GUESTS,

Looking ahead, it is clear to all of us that the tasks ahead are many and far from easy. Together we should continue to defend our national interests, combined with European and Euro-Atlantic values, to defend the rights and interests of our compatriots, to work for the development and prosperity of our homeland. In a spirit of unity, let us today renew our commitment to the principles and values that guide our foreign policy. Let us continue to strive for excellence, to uphold the highest standards of integrity, to work together to build a more just, peaceful and prosperous world where diplomacy prevails over conflict and where peace, freedom and international law prevail.

I wish everyone good health and much professional and personal success! Wishing you a happy celebration!

Sofia, 22 July 2024