Essay Competition “Bulgaria and Asia” Under the Patronage of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
14 November 2025 News
On 13 November 2025, at a ceremony held in the Aula of the Rectorate of Sofia University, the winners of the essay competition “Bulgaria and Asia”, organised under the patronage of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, were awarded. On behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director – General for Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Todor Stoyanov, presented the awards during the opening ceremony of the international academic conference “Vietnam Is Near: Heritage, Continuity, Future”.
For the first time in its long-standing history, the Centre for Eastern Languages and Cultures at Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski” organised an essay competition dedicated to relations between Bulgaria and Asia, under the patronage of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. This initiative forms part of the efforts to promote academic interest in Bulgaria’s bilateral relations with Asian countries and reflects the successful partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Alma Mater, which has contributed to the training of highly qualified professionals in the field of diplomacy and to the development of inter-state relations in education, science and culture.
The ambition is for the initiative to become an annual tradition. In the current year 2025, the focus was placed on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the 35th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea.
Students from all disciplines and higher education institutions in Bulgaria were given the opportunity to demonstrate their analytical thinking and creativity on the themes “Bulgaria and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – Bridges of Friendship and Cooperation” and “Bulgaria and the Republic of Korea – Bridges of Friendship and Cooperation“.