The foreign policy elites of Bulgaria and Romania are not in the habit of discussing the affairs of their region together, or thinking about the two countries as a duo. That is why the events during the round table "Romania and Bulgaria: One year of strategic partnership. The way ahead" held in Bucharest on 14 March, 2024, evoked so much media and public interest. The conference hall at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute was practically full up, with ambassadors from the NATO and EU countries, Romanian foreign policy analysts and diplomats and journalists from Bulgaria in attendance. The event took place under the auspices of the diplomatic institutes of the two neighbouring countries, and their directors - Liliana Popescu and Tanya Mihaylova – signed a cooperation agreement as an update of the earlier agreement between them.

Tanya Mihaylova on her part went back to 2023, when the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute published the results of a research project “Romania's Foreign Policy in the Geopolitical Context and Bulgaria”, while Liliana Popescu said the Romanian Diplomatic Institute had carried out a research project about strategic partnership between Bulgaria and Romania which will be released soon.

Statements were also made by Daniela Gutman, State Secretary at the Romanian Foreign Ministry and Elena Shekerletova, Deputy Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, and they too evoked interest. The two speakers demonstrated different approaches to the strategic partnership between the two countries. Daniela Gutman laid an emphasis on the context in which this partnership is unfolding – for example how a coordination of foreign policies in Southeastern Europe can play a positive role in the integration of the region into EU. She also spoke of the Global South and how it has been growing more and more important and interesting to the West, to which both Romania and Bulgaria belong. Deputy Minister Shekerletova focused more on Bulgarian-Romanian relations as such, their dynamics and what the strategic partnership between the two countries has achieved during the past year. Her message was also motivational – using phrases highlighting the need for both countries to act together and the potential they can provide each other with.

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The highlight of the event were the speeches by the Bulgarian ambassador to Romania H. E. Radko Vlaykov and the Romanian ambassador to Bulgaria H.E. Brândușa Predescu. Ambassador Vlaykov stated he was extremely pleased with the speed with which the strategic partnership declaration was signed, and went on to say that 12 years had passed from the signing of the agreement on the Vidin-Calafat bridge to its completion. The Bulgarian ambassador urged the two foreign ministries to do what is needed so that the new bridge at Ruse-Giurgiu can be finalized in the space of 4 years after an agreement is concluded. Businesses in the two countries have shown they can be very effective, and such a deadline is realistic, ambassador Vlaykov said.

Ambassador Predescu also made a positive assessment of the dynamics of Bulgarian-Romanian relations during the past year, stating that she and her Bulgarian counterpart Radko Vlaykov had been very busy during that time. The international context in which Bulgarian-Romanian relations are unfolding is favourable for their development, she said. When we talk about building infrastructure in Bulgarian-Romanian relations we shouldn’t only mean the big infrastructure projects but also the building of relationships among the people of the two countries, she added.

The event was also the venue of many informal meetings and discussions between diplomats from Bulgaria and Romania, but also from other countries – even after it was over, a sign of the efforts by the Bulgarian and Romanian foreign policy elites are making to focus on their region and on international relations, together. It would be an even more positive sign if such practices were to become routine – when ordinary people start doing things together in a natural way, then the Bulgarian-Romanian strategic partnership will become more viable of its own accord.  

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova

Photos: Vladimir Mitev