site.btaBulgaria Approves Changes to Francophonie Agreement on Regional Office in Sofia

The Council of Ministers decided on Tuesday to amend the supplementary arrangement to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) on the establishment in Sofia of a structure of the Organization and its privileges and inviolability on Bulgarian territory, signed on October 9, 2015, in Yerevan, Armenia.

Bulgaria has been an OIF member since 1993. The country is recognized as an engine of la Francophonie in the Central and Eastern European region, and part of the merit for this is due to the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the Francophone in Sofia, the Government Information Service said.

The Bulgarian capital was chosen as its headquarters due to the success of Bulgarian Francophonie, the unique system of teaching French in bilingual secondary schools, the development of Francophone departments in higher education institutions, the good functioning of the Specialized Administration and Management Institute of La Francophonie in Sofia.

The Agreement regulates the granting by the Bulgarian side of privileges and immunities to the employees of the OIF, as well as gratuitous right of use and inviolability of premises and assets necessary for the functioning of the structure of the organization.

The approved amendment changes the headquarters of the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the Francophone to Sofia. This change fulfils the country's commitments to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.