On December 5th, 2017, Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev was a keynote speaker at the Board of Governors Annual Meeting of the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (NCSEJ).
Ambassador Stoytchev highlighted the longstanding relations between Bulgaria and the American Jewish organizations and the excellent cooperation with them in the process of Bulgaria’s accession to NATO and the European Union. He also made an overview of the Bulgarian-American relations in light of the 115th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations to be celebrated next year.
The Bulgarian Ambassador expressed gratitude to the Jewish organizations, NCSEJ among them, for their support in the process of accepting Bulgaria as a Liaison Country to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Bulgaria is supposed to get a full-fledged membership by the end of 2018. The recently taken decisions by the Bulgarian government to adopt and apply the IHRA “Working Definition of anti-Semitism” and to appoint the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs as National Coordinator for anti-Semitism were also outlined.
Ambassador Stoytchev drew a special attention to the historic rescue of the Bulgarian Jews during the Second World War. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary which we will celebrate in 2018, preparations have already started to commemorate the event in the US.
The priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018 were also presented.