site.btaCongolese Social Affairs, Forestry Ministers Discuss Cooperation with Bulgaria

Minister of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Humanitarian Action of the Republic of Congo Irene Marie Cecile Mboukou-Kimbatsa and Minister of Forestry Rosalie Matondo have completed their higher education in Bulgaria and now have plans to develop bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The two ministers spoke to BTA on Tuesday during their first visit to Bulgaria in more than 30 years, when they were both students here.

Mboukou-Kimbatsa sees potential in a partnership between the two countries in the field of social activities and in sharing experiences on how to help vulnerable groups. She has discussed with Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Nikolay Naydenov the education and pay of social care workers, which "does not motivate enough people to work in the social sphere". Other topics of discussion were assistance to orphans and the people with disabilities, Mboukou-Kimbatsa said.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy said Tuesday in a press release that the focus of the talks with Mboukou-Kimbatsa was the training of social workers. "Our aim is to increase the motivation of employees and make the profession of social worker more attractive. This will increase the quality of social services and care that people receive," Deputy Minister Naydenov said.

Congolese Minister of Forestry Matondo reported she met with Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev on Tuesday morning to discuss the wood market, reforestation and agriculture. She said that cooperation in her field can take the form of training programmes and strengthening the capacity for exchanges between representatives of the Bulgarian and Congolese ministries. Matondo noted Bulgaria's experience in the production of juices, in the cultivation of vegetables and in agriculture.

The agenda also included the development of trade relations in the field of agriculture. "Our trade in agricultural products is symbolic, and it is good to think in the direction of increasing market exchange," Vatev said. He presented the opportunities of Bulgarian grain production, canning industry, seed production and quality local products.

Mboukou-Kimbatsa and Matondo attended on Monday the start of the new academic year at the Plovdiv Agricultural University, of which they are alumni.