The Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) leads and coordinates Bulgaria’s participation in international development cooperation. The Minister is supported by an International Development Cooperation Council which approves the general guidelines, goals, objectives, geographical and thematic priorities of Bulgaria’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). Bulgarian Embassies in recipient countries liaise with the beneficiaries of Bulgarian assistance and locally coordinate activities with other donors. The Ministry of Finance (MF) plays a role in the process of ODA programming and planning and determines the selection of financial mechanisms and instruments.

Bulgaria’s main development policy objective is the eradication of poverty and aims to achieve the goals proclaimed in the ‘Programme of the Bulgarian growth and social responsibility’ (2005). Bulgarian cooperation with developing countries adheres to the general principles laid down in the UN Millennium Declaration and the European Consensus on Development as well as OECD/DAC requirements with regard to ODA quality and quantity. In 2007, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision which endorsed a ‘Concept on the Policy of Bulgaria for participation in the international development cooperation’. Bulgaria’s participation in international development cooperation is guided by the following principles:

• Partnership
• Ownership
• Coherence, complementarity and coordination
• Effectiveness
• Conditionality
• Transparency
• Non-discrimination 

Priority countries include those from South-East Europe and the Black Sea region. ODA priority countries include: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The MFA will regularly revise this list of priority countries for cooperation and may be extended in the future to include countries from the least developed group, particularly in Africa. Bulgaria’s development cooperation policy will focus on no more than two thematic areas where the country has a comparative advantage in providing assistance, expertise and capacity. Taking into consideration the needs of the partner countries, Bulgaria can focus its development cooperation activities in the following areas:

• Education and training of specialists (particularly in higher education)
• Infrastructure construction and maintenance (production of electricity, energy and water supply networks, construction)
• Implementation of economic, financial, administrative, social and healthcare reform
• Cultural diversity and tolerance
• Environmental protection and promotion of sustainable development
• Security and post-conflict reconstruction in line with the principle of concentration

The Republic of Bulgaria will strive to reach the ODA targets set for the newly acceded Member States at 0.17% of GNI in 2010 and 0.33% of GNI in 2015, depending on its economic status and possibilities. In 2008, Bulgaria contributed 24 million LEV (€13 million) (0.04% of GNI).

Bulgaria is contributing to development cooperation within the UN and its specialised agencies. Bulgaria also intends to take advantage of future possibilities to cooperate with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Bulgaria’s efforts will initially concentrate on more traditional bilateral cooperation instruments such as:

• Project implementation
• Technical assistance
• Participation in joint development projects of established donors in the selected priority countries on the basis of trilateral cooperation

Bulgaria does not have a national strategy for SRHR/ HIV/AIDS activities. However, in 2007, a national MDG debate took place involving the Parliamentary Committee of the MFA and several representatives of the Bulgarian national NGDO platform: BPID8. The debate was one of 12 national debates held in each of the new Member States to raise public awareness on development issues and the role of the new donors in the global efforts for achieving the MDGs. The role of NGOs in development assistance was also noted whereby the MFA declared the government’s willingness to provide financial support to development projects of NGOs.  

The Bulgarian NGDO platform: BPID began in 2005 and aims to support civil society engagement and promote effective development aid. It has been active in two main directions: working with the MFA on the development of an ODA policy and strategy and working on strengthening the platform itself.

Bulgaria is not ready to support the platform financially and the members themselves lack the financial capacity to secure its stability. However, the NGOs see their role as achieving increased awareness within Bulgarian society of ODA issues.

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¹ Contact information can be found in the NGO Platform Contact Information section of this Guide.

Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Trialog Country Overview: Bulgaria