UNWE - Host of the 30th Anniversary of MERCOSUR

At the invitation of the International Economics and Politics Faculty, the largest intergovernmental association in South America - MERCOSUR chose UNWE to host an International Conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of its establishment. The Forum was held in the Ceremonial Hall and online under the patronage of the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov with working languages English and Spanish.

Opening of the Conference: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Bakalova, Dean of the International Economics and Politics Faculty, Prof. Dr. Daniela Koh-Kozhuharova, Chairwoman of the Organizing Committee and moderator of the Conference, Zaritsa Dinkova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, graduate of UNWE, Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, H. E. Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis, Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to Bulgaria and H. E. Alfredo Atanasov, Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina to Bulgaria (from left to right)

The Rector Prof. Dimitrov welcomed the guests and participants pointing out the importance of MERCOSUR for the development of interstate and trade-economic relations of South America in international scale. "I am convinced that the Conference will be fruitful and will contribute to the future understanding between our nations and successful economic cooperation, will stimulate the academic exchange between universities and work on joint projects", outlined Prof. Dimitrov. 

Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, next to him: Deputy Minister Zaritsa Dinkova

The Ambassador of Brazil H. E. Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis expressed her gratitude to UNWE for organizing the event and pointed out that for her as a diplomat with 40 years of career experience it is a great honour to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of MERCOSUR in "such a prestigious academic center and institution as the UNWE". "This is an opportunity to expand our cooperation at a professional academic level", outlined the Ambassador and expressed her thankfulness to the Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov and Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihail Musov for the warm welcome.

Prof. Mihail Musov and H. E. Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis

H. E. Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis delivered a plenary report on "MERCOSUR: Integration, Peace and Prosperity" in which she emphasized on the importance of intergovernmental unification for peace-building and trade-economic development in the region. She gave a historical overview of the creation and expansion of MERCOSUR over the years defining the Agreement signed between Brazil and Argentina on the use of nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes as extremely important for national and international security. The ambassador described MERCOSUR as a "benchmark for peace and prosperity", reviewing its goals, mission and tasks, and highlighted its huge role for the free trade agreement with the European Union signed in 2019 which has contributed to the integration and significant export growth between the two regions.

H. E. Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis, next to her: the ambassador of Argentina

The ambassador of Aregentina H. E. Alfredo Atanasoff expressed his gratitude to UNWE for organizing the Conference and pointed out that the coincidence of the event with the 90th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries had made it even more significant. The ambassador focused on some key aspects of the Union activities paying special attention to the institutional sphere in addition to the economic one. He emphasized on the importance of the European model and the support of the European Parliament in building the Parliament of MERCOSUR (PARLASUR) - an organization for which he had the honour to work. In conclusion, Mr Atanasoff outlined that MERCOSUR played an important role in strengthening the democracy and preventing conflicts in international scale and had a significant contribution to stability in Latin America.

H. E. Alfredo Atanasoff

The report of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Zaritsa Dinkova was presented in Spanish and its topic was "The European Union and MERCOSUR - Partnership and Problems". In it she focuses on the EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement analyzing the predominantly positive but ambiguous reaction of EU member-states having in mind the forthcoming ratification of the document. She also drew attention to the most significant results of the EU-Latin America strategic partnership: the development of an intensive network for bilateral regional integration, including in the digital, scientific and educational spheres; the closer linking of economies of the two regions; increasing coordination within the UN; regulatory convergence in the framework of environmental protection, etc. "All this is a prerequisite for constructive efforts to overcome the serious challenges facing the partnership between the two regions", pointed out Mrs. Dinkova.

Deputy Minister Dinkova is a graduate of the UNWE International Relations Department, she has graduated the speciality with two languages – Russian as first and Spanish as second foreign language

The guests and participants were greeted by the Dean of the International Economics and Politics Faculty Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Bakalova. She described MERCOSUR as an engine for the development of democracy and trade in the region and an important economic factor globally. Prof. Bakalova emphasized on the huge role of the intergovernmental union in increasing the economic prosperity of the countries in the region and pointed out the relations between MERCOSUR and the EU as an example of successful international cooperation.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Bakalova

With an online welcome and a plenary report on MERCOSUR: 30 Years of Regional Integration in the Conference took part H. E. Dario Cesar Celaya Alvarez, National Director of MERCOSUR. In his presentation, he discussed the major international aspects of the interstate unification development, the common market, trade and balance, trade agreements and negotiations that led to the integration and transformation of MERCOSUR into the largest interstate union in South America uniting 250 million people and contributing by more than 75% to the continent total GDP.

H. E. Dario Cesar Celaya Alvarez

The work of the Conference continued with a panel of reports and discussion on topics related to MERCOSUR. The moderator was Dr. Kalina Ishpekova-Bratanova, Scientific Secretary of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics Department. Reports were presented by Prof. Dr. Lisette Salgado who joined from the CETYS University - Mexico; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paskal Zhelev, Deputy Dean for Quality and International Cooperation of the International Economics and Politics Faculty, whose presentation on the EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement and the opportunities it opens up for Bulgaria aroused great interest; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Plamen Ralchev, Head of the International Relations Department, who spoke about the challenges of maintaining national identity within MERCOSUR; Prof. Dr. Tatiana Hubenova-Delisivkova, President of the Union of Economists in Bulgaria, who dedicated her presentation to the European integration of Bulgaria and the relations with MERCOSUR in the context of the EU transition to a climate-neutral economy. The Conference ended with the presentation of UNWE PhD student Kristian Madzhurov, his topic was "MERCOSUR before and after COVID-19".

Before the Conference the official guests has a working meeting with the Rector of UNWE and then they had the opportunity to go over the university (in the pictures below).

The Rector awarded to the guests the book about Prof. Stefan Bobchev - founder and first Rector of UNWE (in the pictures below).