Photo Exhibition Celebrates Decades of Bulgaria-Spain Cooperation on EU Path

At the opening of the photo exhibition, from left: Spanish Ambassador Alejandro Polanco, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and BTA Secretary General Julia Sokolova, Sofia, December 12, 2023 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

12.12.2023 20:16

(BTA)

A photo exhibition showing the common path of Spain and Bulgaria in the EU was unveiled by the Spanish Embassy at the Archives States Agency in Sofia on Tuesday. The event marks the end of the cultural programme of the Spanish EU Presidency.

The exhibition also includes nearly 30 accounts by Bulgarians from various walks of life who maintain a close connection with Spain. There they share the reasons why they chose Spain or the Spanish language at a certain point in their lives.

In his remarks on the occasion, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov thanked the Spanish presidency for their support for Bulgaria and for making sure everything moved in the right direction. "Wherever there was a need for public support, the Spanish Presidency was always there," he added.

Spanish Ambassador Alejandro Polanco recalled arriving in Bulgaria four years ago to find people who know a lot about Spain. He said he read a book about Bulgarians and Spaniards but the problem with it was that it ends in the late 1980s, and he felt a fill in the missing part, after the 1990s with this exhibition.

Ambassador Polanco said that together with the Archives Agency they have since produced a book. He argued that the period of Bulgaria's EU membership is probably the most important period for both countries. There are great pictures of bilateral relations, with officials of both countries, photos and documents from Bulgaria as a EU member, including the document from the appointment of the first Bulgarian ambassador to the EU, he said.

The President of the State Archives Agency, Dr. Mihail Gruev, thanked for Spain's support for Bulgaria on its European path. In his words, today's exhibition is a natural continuation of the path that the two countries embarked on in 1910.

BTA Secretary General Julia Sokolova said in her remarks at the opening of the exhibition that some of the photos in its are from the BTA photo archive. "One of the strategic goals that BTA has set itself is to preserve the memory of Bulgaria since its first news bulletin of February 16, 1898. BTA has since built the largest photo archive in Bulgaria, including some of the the photos provided for this exhibition," she said. BTA is also a mediator in the cultural exchanges between Bulgaria and Spain, she added explaining that a large Bulgarian community lives in Spain because of which Madrid was chosen as the venue of the Fourth World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which BTA held in 2008.

Prof. Dr. Christo Pimpirev, Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, said that the "nicest best is the one between Bulgaria and Spain in Antarctica".

Bulgaria and Spain have neighbouring Antarctic bases.

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