Minister of Culture Krastyu Krastev sent to Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, the application for the activity of the Bulgarian Center for Underwater Archeology to be extended to category of Center for Underwater and World Heritage. In this way the center will establish itself as a leading factor in the study, preservation and promotion of the underwater and world cultural heritage in the Black Sea region, Krastev says. In the coming months, UNESCO will conduct a study on Bulgaria's readiness to create such a center, on the basis of which the final decision will be made.

The Center for Underwater Archeology in Sozopol, which was established in 1978, is the oldest institution of its kind in Eastern Europe and represents the first such institution actively working in the Black Sea Basin.