Working Visit of Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, Sofia, the Republic of Bulgaria, 10 September 2025
On 10 September 2025, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, paid a working visit to Sofia, Bulgaria and met with Ms. Nataliya Kiselova, President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and PABSEC President.
Mr. Hajiyev informed Ms. Kiselova about the ongoing activities of the Assembly, the PABSEC events to be held in the second half of 2025, and the preparation and organization of the 66th PABSEC General Assembly, scheduled to take place in Sofia on 23–25 November 2025. Mr. Hajiyev expressed his appreciation for the substantial contribution and active engagement of the Bulgarian Parliament and the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation in advancing the Assembly’s work and for their valuable support to its activities.
Ms. Kiselova reaffirmed that Bulgaria attaches great importance to regional cooperation and underlined the commitment of the National Assembly, in its capacity as PABSEC President, to ensure the successful organization of the forthcoming 66th PABSEC General Assembly in Sofia. She emphasized that Bulgarian institutions are working in close coordination and devoting particular attention to its preparation. She also expressed her high appreciation of the excellent organization, and positive outcomes of the 65th PABSEC General Assembly, held in Baku at the invitation of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Petar Kanev, Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation.
During his visit to Sofia, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev also met with Mr. Georg Georgiev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and BSEC Chairman-in-Office. Mr. Hajiyev informed the Minister about the current and future activities of the PABSEC and emphasized Bulgaria’s active participation and contribution to the work of the Assembly. Mr. Georgiev briefed the Secretary General on the priorities of the Bulgarian BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office, underlined the importance of this responsibility, and expressed confidence that good coordination between institutions would contribute to achieving concrete results in strengthening cooperation in the Black Sea region. The parties also discussed issues related to the preparation and organization of the 66th PABSEC General Assembly in Sofia.
During his visit, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev also had a meeting with Ms. Evelina Slavcheva, President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), and Prof. Julian Revalski, former BAS President and PABSEC Special Representative for International Organizations on Science and Education. He expressed his gratitude to Ms. Slavcheva for the willingness of BAS to host the Third Meeting of the Presidents of Academies of Sciences of BSEC in Sofia in May 2026. The sides discussed the organizational framework and preparations for this important event.
Mr. Asaf Hajiyev was accompanied during his visit by Ms. Pavlina Lozanova, Secretary of the PABSEC Committee for Legal Affairs and International Cooperation.