Lecture by Ambassador of Bulgaria at MGIMO

Lecture by Ambassador of Bulgaria at MGIMO

27 April 2021

April 27th, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Russia Atanas Krastin came to MGIMO to give a talk to students in the framework of the "Ambassadorial Dialogue" course.

The Head of the International Department E.Andreev greeted the ambassador. After a meeting with the management of the University, the guest delivered a lecture to students about the work of the embassy and relations between countries.

Atanas Krastin remarked that Russia and Bulgaria have historically maintained a good relationship and cooperate in various spheres. The countries hold a large number of joint events, among which the Day of Slavic Written Language and Culture. The guest emphasized the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet is an essential part of the joint history that unites Russia and Bulgaria.

The ambassador also spoke of cooperation in the field of science and education, more specifically about the prospects of studying at universities in Bulgaria, the role of international conferences in increasing academic mobility and promoting the development of research.

During the meeting, the diplomat asked students a number of questions and engaged in discussions with them. The undergraduates, who had the opportunity to practice their diplomatic abilities, received from the guest of honor memorable gifts, collections of stories and essays by young Bulgarian and Russian writers and translators. The guest also gave to the University the book “Paths of Diplomacy. Events. People. Places of Memory”, released to mark the 140th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between Russia and Bulgaria. The Ambassador's gift will be available at the MGIMO library.

As the lecture came to a close, Atanas Krastin answered questions about cooperation between Bulgaria and the Gulf countries in the field of energy, the prospects for the Balkan Stream, elections in Bulgaria, and relations between the European Union and Turkey.