General information
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Bulgaria were established on June 5, 1992.
In 2004, Kazakhstan opened its Diplomatic mission in Bulgaria.
On July 18, 2019, by the Decree of President K.Tokayev, the Diplomatic mission was transformed into an Embassy.
The Embassy of Bulgaria in Kazakhstan was opened in 1994.
Since February 27, 2020, B.Hadjiev has been serving as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Since December 9, 2022, V.Temirbayev has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Bulgaria.
High-Level Visits
The President of Kazakhstan visited Bulgaria once (September 15-16, 1999).
Presidents of Bulgaria visited Kazakhstan three times (July 23-31, 1994, Zh.Zhelev on an official visit; September 25-27, 2003, G.Parvanov on an official visit; December 1-2, 2010, G.Parvanov on a working visit to participate in the OSCE Summit).
Vice Presidents of Bulgaria visited Kazakhstan four times (January 10-11, 2006, A.Marin for the inauguration of the President of Kazakhstan; M.Popova August 27-31, 2016, for the “Building a World without Nuclear Weapons” conference and November 12-13, 2018, at the IV session of the Astana club; October 7-9, 2019, I.Iotova on a working visit).
The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan visited Bulgaria once (D.Akhmetov on an official visit, July 23-24, 2006).
Parliamentary Cooperation
The head of “Bulgaria – Kazakhstan” Friendship Group in the National Assembly of Bulgaria of the 49th Convocation is the Chair of the Tourism Commission, E.Anisova (Movement for Rights and Freedoms). From Kazakhstan, it`s E.Abil, a member of the Committee on Finance and Budget.
Visits to Bulgaria:
- Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan M.Ospanov (October 1996);
- a delegation of deputies from the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan (November 2012);
- a delegation of deputies from the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan (June and November 2008, April 2009).
Visits to Kazakhstan:
- Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Bulgaria T.Tsacheva (November 2015);
- deputies of the Chair of the National Assembly of Bulgaria P.Beron (August 2007), G.Pirinski (August 2012), V.Zhablyanov (November 2017) and V.Mareski (November 2019);
- members of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (December 2005, May 2009, May 2012, June 2016, June 2019);
- OSCE special coordinator, head of the short-term mission K.Vigenin as a foreign observer for parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan (January 2021).
Trade and Economic Cooperation
Currently, the indicators of bilateral trade are not high, including due to the negative impact of global crisis phenomena. In 2022, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to $181.3 million (Kazakhstan`s export - $142.4 million, import -$38.9 million). In 2023 – $95.1 million (export – $27.3 million, import - $67.9 million).
The main mechanism of interaction between the countries in the economic track is the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation (ICEC). Co-chairs of the ICEC: from Kazakhstan – the Minister of National Economy A.Kuantyrov, from Bulgaria – the Minister of Economy and Industry B.Bogdanov.
To date, four meetings of the ICEC have been held (the first and second – before 2004, the third – in 2014, and the fourth – in 2016). The 5th meeting of the ICEC is scheduled for 2024 in Sofia.
Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation
The Agreement in the field of culture of November 10, 2015, is the legal basis for cooperation in this area.
Three Kazakh cultural centers operate in Bulgaria:
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the capital of Kazakhstan, by the decision of the Capital Municipal Council of March 15, 2018, Number 167, one of the streets of Sofia was named “Astana”. The solemn opening took place on December 28, 2018.
On August 10, 2020, in honor of the 175th anniversary of A.Kunanbayev,
a bas-relief of Abai was officially opened in Sveti Vlas.
On September 29, 2020, the Municipal Council of Varna adopted decision number 393-4-2 on naming one of the city streets “Abai”.
On November 19, 2020, on the occasion of the jubilee dates, the 175th anniversary of A.Kunanbayev and the 1150th anniversary of Al-Farabi, a ceremony of cancellation of newly issued commemorative postage stamps and the presentation of a new book by Zh. Altaev about Al-Farabi in the Bulgarian language was held.
In 1995, the Bulgarian Ethnocultural Center was established in Pavlodar. Many ethnocultural public associations are registered in Kazakhstan: “Vyara” in the Aktobe region, “Zlata” in Astana, “Slavyane” in the Pavlodar region, “Renaissance” in the Atyrau region.
In the Pavlodar region, the Bulgarian department of the K.Darzhuman School of National Revival operates successfully.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) of Kazakhstan and Bulgaria organize joint cooperation, thanks to which Kazakh students study at Bulgarian universities in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv, Burgas, Blagoevgrad, Ruse, and Stara Zagora (59 students).
On October 27, 2021, Alikhan Bokeikhan University and the Technical University of Sofia signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (due to the renaming of the Kazakh HEI).
During the visit of the delegation of the Akimat of Pavlodar led by the Akim of the city A.Baikhanov to Burgas on September 21-24, 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Toraygyrov University and the Burgas Free University, and a Memorandum of Understanding between Toraygyrov University and the University named after Professor A.Zlatarov.
On December 13, 2022, a solemn opening of the Kazakh corner took place in the walls of the National Library “St. Cyril and Methodius” with the participation of prominent cultural figures, the diplomatic corps, and friends of Kazakhstan.
On June 8, 2023, within the framework of the International Forum “Astana”, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the NAO “National Academy of Sciences at the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
On July 18, 2023, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Sofia University named after St. Clement of Ohrid.
At the XI International Film Festival “Slavic Tale” held in Sofia on September 11, 2023, the film “The Kazakh Khanate. The Golden Throne” by Kazakh director Rustem Abdrashev won the Grand Prix in the category of the best feature film.
On October 24, 2023, a concert of musicians from the Gaziza Zhubanova State Spring Quartet “Kazakh Quartet” was held on the stage of the Central Military Club in Sofia.
On October 25, 2023, as part of the events dedicated to the Republic Day of Kazkahstan, in Semey, a solemn signing of an Agreement for the opening of a branch of the Technical University of Sofia at Alikhan Bokeihan University took place.