The Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev presented the certificates to the trainee attachés from the 16th class “Stoyan Petrov-Chomakov”, who graduated from the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I sincerely believe in the new energy that is flowing into this ministry. It is necessary because you are the ones who bring new ideas. You will receive the knowledge from us, from the institutional memory of the ministry, but at the same time you are the ones who will give new ideas on how to realize our national interests”, Svetlan Stoev said at the solemn ceremony in the “Contracts” hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in front of the 18 trainee attachés. This is the first class to conduct its training in person since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our Foreign Minister expressed hope that the future young diplomats will invest the acquired experience and knowledge in the Bulgarian administration, and not abroad, as they will be helped to quickly adapt to the professional environment.
Minister Stoev assessed the role of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an established institution for additional education in the field of diplomacy. “The very fact that there are 10 systematic modules in the training of the 16th class of trainee attachés shows that the challenges in the world today are much greater than 35 years ago, when I joined the ministry”, Svetlan Stoev said.
He also noted the opportunities for practical training, among which this year was the participation of the 16th class of trainee attachés in the preparation and implementation of the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative in Sofia on July 8-9, 2021.
The trainee attachés underwent a three-month training course, which included thematic modules in the field of diplomacy, diplomatic protocol, consular diplomacy, international law, and others. The training program ended with the preparation and public defense of expert reports on topics in the field of international relations and foreign policy. Successful participation in the course is one of the obligatory conditions for appearing before the Career Commission and receiving the first diplomatic rank of “attaché”.
The 16th class chose as its patron the famous Bulgarian diplomat Stoyan Petrov-Chomakov (1888 – 1966), who served for over 30 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religions and in Bulgarian missions abroad. He was Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in Stockholm, Bucharest. His last diplomatic service was in Tokyo.
The director of the Diplomatic Institute Tanya Mihaylova thanked the experts from the ministry and other institutions, as well as the employees of the institute, who contributed to the successful implementation of the course in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of the ceremony, Minister Stoev gave advice to future diplomats – to study every day, to be active and visible to others and society. “Discuss, argue, defend national interests. Good luck!”, Minister Stoev said.
