Bulgaria and Ireland may seem a whole continent apart, but they share a few things in common – in the first place, they belong to the prestigious club of countries that the European Union is today.
In connection with the Feast of St. Patrick (17 March), the patron saint of Ireland, Assia Chaneva talked to the Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria HE Michael Forbes covering a range of topics - from the EU agenda and how he sees Bulgarians to Bulgarian-Irish contacts in culture.
First of all, a look into the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Ambassador’s agenda:
Part of an ambassador’s work is meeting with ordinary people. Michael Forbes shares his impressions of Bulgarian negativism despite obvious achievements, and … of Bulgarian bagpipes in the Rhodope Mountains.
Finally, a closer look at Bulgarian-Irish joint projects in culture:
***
Michael Forbes has been Ireland’s Ambassador to Bulgaria since October 2016. He is also the Ambassador of Ireland to Armenia and Georgia where there are no embassies of the Republic of Ireland. Previously Michael Forbes has served as Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and Permanent Delegate of UNESCO in Paris. From 2009 to 2012, he was the Director for Europe and Asia at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to that he served as Ireland's Ambassador to Israel.
Nearly 80% of the population of the Moldovan city of Taraclia are ethnic Bulgarians. Historically, the city was founded in the early 19th century by Bulgarian settlers as a result of the series of Russo-Turkish wars. The current mayor of the city,..
Four decades have passed since the longest freezing of the Danube River waters, which the residents of the Bulgarian towns along the Danube remember. In 1985, the river was covered in ice for two whole months - from January 16 to March 16. Then the ice..
For another year, traffic police in Vratsa and the Burgas region have stopped women drivers - not for violations, but to surprise them with a tulip and a greeting in honour of International Women's Day on March 8. The initiative in Vratsa took place..
Bulgaria, as distant as a mirage, has become a beloved land for a man who has never set foot in this country. For nearly 50 years, Mr Jayanta Chakrabarti..
Bulgaria participates in the Global Money Week initiative for yet another year. Global Money Week is an annual global awareness-raising campaign to..
Scotland is known as "The Land of the Brave" and recognized as the "Homeland of the Bagpipe". An instrument that carries the soul of Bulgarian folklore in..
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Cloudy
Cloudy