site.btaBulgarian Embassy in Turkiye, Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council Present Exhibition on Cooperation in Polar Research

The Bulgarian Embassy in Turkiye, together with the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK), presented an exhibition tracking the cooperation between Bulgaria and Turkiye in the field of polar research.

A special guest of the event was the head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, Prof. Christo Pimpirev, as well as his colleague Prof. Burcu Ozsoy, President of the Marmara Research Centre and Director of the Turkish Polar Research Institute. The event was attended by Turkish Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Kasım Gonullu, the head of TUBITAK, Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydin, ambassadors and other high-ranking representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Turkiye.

At the beginning of the event, opened by Bulgarian Ambassador to Turkiye Angel Cholakov, the guests observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the fire in the Turkish ski resort of Kartalkaya, that caused 79 casualties.

Ambassador Cholakov expressed satisfaction that through this joint photo exhibition with TUBITAK, the countries have the opportunity to show that the spirit of good neighborliness between Bulgaria and Turkiye “is carried even to Antarctica and so, as neighbors and friends, the two Antarctic/polar institutes are successfully following the implementation of their national polar programmes, supporting each other”.

Against the backdrop of the problems with global warming and climate change, Ambassador Cholakov highlighted the importance of international cooperation in the field of polar research and in the context of the International Year of Glacier Conservation declared by UNESCO. He expressed satisfaction with the interaction between Bulgaria and Turkiye to date and expressed readiness for assistance from the embassy to deepen cooperation in the field of scientific research of mutual interest.

Prof. Cristo Pimpirev recalled that ten years ago Bulgaria and Turkiye signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of scientific research in Antarctica and highlighted the effectiveness of the cooperation.

Pimpirev pointed out that there are deep historical ties between the two countries and drew attention to the common values ​​and friendship between Bulgaria and Turkiye.

Prof. Burcu Ozsoy thanked her Bulgarian colleague for the advice and guidance during the first years of the formation of the work of the Turkish Polar Institute. She pointed out that cooperation between Bulgarian and Turkish scientists continues. Ozsoy added that Turkish researchers have used the Bulgarian Antarctic infrastructure even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

TUBITAK President Aydin stated that cooperation between the two countries in the scientific and academic fields has the potential to deepen.

He pointed out that since 2017, Turkiye has sent eight national scientific expeditions to Antarctica and four Arctic scientific expeditions, in which nearly 200 Turkish scientists participated and about 100 projects were implemented.