site.btaCabinet Approves Draft Agreement with Francophone University Agency

At its weekly sitting on Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved a draft agreement between Bulgaria and the Francophone University Agency (AUF) on the Sofia headquarters of the National Office Bulgaria of the AUF in Central and Eastern Europe. 

The AUF is the biggest association of higher education establishments in the world. Its members are over 1,000 universities, higher schools, university networks, and science and research centres from 119 countries. The AUF maintains 59 representatives in 40 countries.

In Bulgaria, ten higher education establishments and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are members of the AUF. They all participate in projects and activities related to education, scientific research and university management depending on the university's profile and its strategic goals. Very often Bulgarian scientists who speak French are part of regional or international consortia implementing scientific projects that unite international AUF-funded Francophone university teams. Bulgarian universities thus turn into regional scientific centres with international partnerships.

The new agreement reflects the changes in the names adopted with the AUF's new strategy for the 2021-2025 period. Under that strategy, the antenna of the AUF Office for Central and Eastern Europe, which has been working in Sofia since April 2013, is renamed National Office Bulgaria of the AUF for Central and Eastern Europe.

The previous agreement on the AUF headquarters was concluded for ten years and expired on April 4, 2023.