By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

June 5 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, Azernews reports.

A sports delegation from Bulgaria visited Azerbaijan to participate in the Youth Sports Festival organized on this occasion, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The sports festival took place at the Baku Sports Palace. The national anthem of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria sounded at the festival's opening ceremony.

Many prominent public figures and representatives of the Azerbaijani and Bulgarian Ministries of Youth and Sports addressed the festival.

Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mariana Vasileva spoke about the development of ties in the sports field between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria.

She expressed confidence that the festival will serve to further strengthen and develop sports ties between the two countries.

In his speech, Bulgarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolai Yankov praised Azerbaijan for the high level of organization of the festival.

In their remarks, Deputy Head of the European Department of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Rzayev and head of the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Inter-Parliamentary Working Group Rauf Aliyev stressed that over the years, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have established successful ties in many areas.

The Youth Sports Festival was followed by an artistic program that featured national dances of the two countries.

The festival's sports part included several sports - acrobatic gymnastics, wrestling, as well as martial arts - capoeira and breakdance.

The winners were awarded at the end of the festival. Bulgarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolai Yankov presented a commemorative trophy to the head of the Sports Department, Elnur Mammadov, while Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mariana Vasileva handed a trophy over to Marin Mirchev, expert of the International Cooperation Department under the Bulgarian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

At the same time, souvenirs were given to team leaders and athletes.

Notably, diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria were established on June 5, 1992.

Since then, the two countries successfully cooperated in areas such as transport and transit of goods, tourism, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, science and high technologies, education, military equipment, etc.

The working group on Azerbaijani-Bulgarian inter-parliamentary relations was established in December 2005.