Bulgaria names members of commission on historical and educational issues with Macedonia
Bulgaria’s government announced on May 9 the names of the members of a joint commission on historical and educational issues with the Republic of Macedonia.
The move is part of more cordial official relations with the former Yugoslav republic, following the ratification by both countries of a good-neighbourliness treaty.
At the same Cabinet meeting, the government appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs as co-chairperson of the intergovernmental commission with Macedonia, which will co-ordinate and monitor the effective implementation of the treaty.
The intergovernmental commission will be a “forum where topical issues can be raised and discussed between the two sides,” a Bulgarian government statement said.
The co-chairperson of the historical and educational issues commission will be Professor Angel Dimitrov, a former ambassador of Bulgaria in Skopje and in Belgrade.
His deputy will be Dr Naum Kaychev, a lecturer in contemporary history at Sofia University, a former consul-general in Bitola and in Toronto, and a member of the Macedonian Research Institute.
Other members from Bulgaria will be Dr Momchil Metodiev, who has a doctorate in historical sciences, is Editor-in-Chief of Christianity and Culture magazine and formerly was a diplomatic officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Professor Ivan Ilchev, lecturer at Sofia University; Professor Kiril Topalov, professor of Old Bulgarian and Revival Literature and a former ambassador of Bulgaria to the Vatican, and Professor Boni Petrunova, director of the National Historical Museum.
