15.12.2023

Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan Opened in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv

Plovdiv, December 15, 2023 – Ambassador of Kazakhstan Viktor Temirbayev paid an official visit to Bulgaria's second largest city – Plovdiv.

The main event of the trip was the opening ceremony of the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in Plovdiv. Plamen Panchev, Founder and Chairman of the Board of one of the largest economic zones in Southeastern Europe, the Trakia Economic Zone, has been appointed as the Honorary Consul. The event was attended by the Mayor of the Plovdiv region Ilya.Zyumbilev, the leadership of the city municipality, representatives of the public, business, scientific and cultural spheres.

Stressing the high level of relations between our countries, Ambassador Viktor Temirbayev noted that Bulgaria is one of the largest trade and economic partners of Kazakhstan in the Balkans.

The Kazakh diplomat stressed the symbolism and importance of the opening of the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan on the eve of the Independence Day of the Republic in the Plovdiv region – one of the largest industrial, cultural and tourist areas of the country. According to him, this will allow our countries to intensify cooperation in the implementation of joint projects in the field of agriculture, machine-building, petrochemical and textile industries.

The Mayor of the Plovdiv region Ilya Zyumbilev, who also addressed the participants of the event, noted the high economic and investment potential of Kazakhstan and drew attention to the rapid pace of development of our country.

Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan Plamen Panchev expressed gratitude for the high trust shown by the Kazakh side and announced his readiness to intensify economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Kazakhstan and the assigned regions.

Earlier, at the meeting of Ambassador Viktor Temirbayev with the newly elected Mayor of Plovdiv Kostadin Dimitrov, the interlocutors noted the important role of interregional cooperation in the progressive development of trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties, and also discussed topical issues on the bilateral agenda. In particular, in order to build up bilateral relations at the interregional level, special emphasis was placed on establishing twinning relations with the third largest city of Kazakhstan – Shymkent.

In turn, Kostadin Dimitrov expressed his readiness to develop interregional relations with Kazakhstan, assuring of his support for initiatives to further strengthen mutually beneficial partnership.

In order to strengthen cooperation in the educational field, Ambassador Viktor Temirbayev held a meeting with the rectors and leadership of the leading Bulgarian universities located in Plovdiv. During the meeting, the Kazakh diplomat familiarized those presenting people with the special status and historical value of Independence Day, symbolizing the highest heritage of our country, and continued a thorough exchange of views on the prospects for cooperation between Kazakh and Bulgarian educational institutions of various profiles.

Bulgarian professors shared their experience in implementing the policy of their educational institutions to improve the quality of education in the European context, as well as plans and priorities for the development of international cooperation with foreign universities.

In the context of a practical contribution to the implementation of the state task of training 100 thousand IT specialists by 2025, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan invited the heads of Bulgarian universities to take part in the international educational exhibition «International Education Fair» (Astana and Almaty, spring 2024), which gives a good opportunity to establish contacts and establish further mutually beneficial partnerships among educational institutions. In addition, the Kazakh diplomat proposed expanding the practice of student exchanges, organizing courses to improve the qualifications of teaching staff and contacts through student practice.

Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria and one of the country's leading economic and industrial centres. Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe and is considered the most dynamically developing centre of Southern Bulgaria.