site.btaAustria-Bulgaria Friendship Society Chair in BTA Interview: We Want to Make Bulgaria Better Known in Austria

In an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Austria-Bulgaria Friendship Society (ABFS) Chair Gerhard Reiweger said that his organization intends to make Bulgaria better known in Austria.

Reiweger organized a meeting in Vienna with the participation of BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Balneology and SPA Tourism Union Ambassador Meglena Plugchieva, following a forum held earlier this week at the Bulgarian embassy in the Austrian capital, mottoed "Bulgaria - Land of Three Ws: Wellness, Wine and Cultural Heritage" (Weltkulturerbe in German). 

Reiweger  said that the meeting was useful for the Austria-Bulgaria Friendship Society, as they regularly organize meetings for their members. He explained that Kiril Valchev told them about the work, structure and activities of BTA and informed them that if someone is looking for information about Bulgaria, BTA is a good source of information, both in Bulgarian and English. He added that Meglena Plugchieva, in turn, spoke about the political situation in Bulgaria.

On the topic of Bulgaria's full acceptance into the Schengen area, Reiweger said that both he personally and the ABFS are very happy, since it seems that a solution has already been found for the final opening of the borders. He added that the organization has always spoken in support of this.

Reiweger, a former Austrian ambassador to Sofia, explained that Austria and Bulgaria have very, very close relations, both historically and culturally. He was glad that shortly after he left Bulgaria as ambassador, Plovdiv was chosen as the European Capital of Culture. 

He specified that the association promotes bilateral relations not only in the form of culture and education, "we always focus on the fact that we strengthen the partnership at the European level and that is why we have always supported Bulgaria as a full member of Schengen".

Reiweger noted that the ABFS was founded almost 70 years ago.

"Times were different then and the focus was on economic cooperation", said the Austrian diplomat.

He went on to say that after the changes in 1989, there was a period when the ABFS was not so active, but about 5 years ago it was reformed and is currently focusing more on European issues, cultural activities and exchanges in the field of education.

They have gained new members and are now implementing programmes that can strengthen cultural exchange and promote cooperation, said Reiweger, adding that it currently has about 60 members.

Reiweger also stated that the ABFS organizes discussions on the topic of Bulgaria.

"We want to make Bulgaria better known in Austria. Two years ago we had a trip to the country and we support its efforts to revive tourism," he said, adding that the ABFS also supports  Plugchieva in her efforts to make Bulgaria a famous balneological destination.

He also said that in 2023 the ABFS had organized a large conference on the history of Bulgaria in order to increase knowledge about Bulgaria in Austrian society.
Reiweger added that the ABFS had also organized the performance of an opera by Austrian composer Helmut Neumann in Veliko Tarnovo and received an award for international cultural cooperation in Europe for the project.

Gerhard Reiweger is an Austrian diplomat, born in 1952. In 1986, he was an attaché at the Austrian embassy in Rabat. From 1987 to 1992, he was an economic counselor at the Austrian Embassy in Washington DC. In 1992–1995, Reiweger was deputy head of mission at the Austrian Embassy in Stockholm. He served as Ambassador to Bulgaria in the 2010-2014  period and Ambassador to Romania in the 2014-2017 period. He was also deputy director at Vienna School of International Studies. He is the author of several publications. He is currently Chair of the Austria-Bulgaria Friendship Society in Vienna.