Jaishankar visits Bulgaria museum, meets friends of India

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday visited Bulgaria’s National Historical Museum and met prominent Bulgarian dignitaries in Sofia ahead of his meetings with the country’s leadership and his counterpart during an official visit to the European nation.

Jaishankar, who is on a two-nation tour of Bulgaria and Finland from June 10-11, said his visit to the museum offered insights into the Balkan nation’s rich cultural heritage preserved over millennia. The two-nation visit is aimed at advancing India’s engagement with European partners and strengthening bilateral cooperation across a range of sectors.

“Visited the National Historical Museum in Sofia today. Explored its remarkable collection of artifacts spanning millennia and gained a deeper appreciation of how Bulgaria has preserved the many facets of its rich history and cultural heritage,” Jaishankar said in a social media post.

The National History Museum is the largest in Bulgaria. More than 700,000 cultural monuments are preserved inside it, representing the history of the present Bulgarian lands from the period 8,000 years ago to the present day.

Later, the minister met notable Bulgarian friends of India and exchanged views on strengthening bilateral ties across diverse sectors.

“Enjoyed meeting with notable Bulgarian friends of India in Sofia today. A useful exchange of ideas on how to deepen the economic, academic, cultural, mobility and people-to-people partnership between our two countries,” he said in another post.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Jaishankar is scheduled to meet the Bulgarian leadership and hold discussions with his Bulgarian counterpart.

The visit comes as India and Bulgaria seek to expand cooperation in trade, investment, education, and culture.

After concluding his engagements in Sofia, Jaishankar will travel to Finland on June 11.

During his visit to Finland, he will attend the 14th edition of the Kultaranta Talks, themed “A World in Transition: Global, Regional and Local Perspectives”, and hold meetings with the Finnish leadership and his counterpart.

Kultaranta is the summer residence of the president of Finland.