Bulgarian MFA welcomes work of joint commission on historical and educational issues
Sofia, 18 August 2022 (MIA) - At a press briefing in the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spokesperson and Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev said the Ministry welcomes the work of the joint commission on historical and educational issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and encourages the commission to continue more intensively in its efforts in order to complete its work for all periods of the common history, MIA’s Sofia correspondent reports.
Deputy Minister Kodzhabashev stressed that by signing the protocol in 2019, the governments of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia accepted the proposals of the joint multidisciplinary expert commission on historical and educational issues for joint tributes to the following figures from the common history of the two countries: Ss. Cyril and Methodius, St. Clement, St. Naum, and Tsar Samoil. The two governments also accept general principles, and notes on the content of 5th grade textbooks in Bulgaria and 6th grade textbooks in the Republic of North Macedonia related to prehistory and ancient history.
In accordance with the protocol signed on July 17, it was agreed that Bulgaria and North Macedonia would publish the 2019 protocol including all its Annexes within one month, the Spokesperson of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.
Publishing the proposals for 2019 approved by the governments of the two countries, he stressed, is an important step towards informing the public both in Bulgaria and in the Republic of North Macedonia about the results of the joint commission’s work.
According to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, this creates the necessary basis to continue with the implementation of another important agreement from the Protocol according to Article 12, July 17 - coordination on a calendar of joint tributes for the period 2022-2023 for the five joint historical figures, Kodzhabashev added.
“In the protocol of the meeting on July 17, the Bulgarian and the Macedonian sides agreed on mechanisms with concrete deadlines for publishing all future results and recommendations from the commission’s activities. Both sides agreed to implement this mechanism with good will, as well as all other provisions related to the protocols from 2019 and 2022,” Kodzhabashev concluded.
