Dear Members and Friends —Bulgaria
On Wednesday 3 December, we will hear from Stefka Yovcheva, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria holds importance for its rich, ancient history, being the oldest European country with an unchanged name since 681 CE and its cultural significance as the birthplace of the
Cyrillic alphabet. It is also the global center for rose oil and the origin of yogurt. In 1989,

Bulgaria began its transition from being an ally of the USSR in the Warsaw Pact to becoming a political democracy and market economy. It is strategically located in the Balkans, serving as a geopolitical gateway between East and West and a catalyst for regional stability as a member of the EU, NATO and the US-Bulgarian Defense Agreement of 2005.