Republic of Bulgaria

Brazil was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Bulgaria, on May 5, 1909. Diplomatic relations with Bulgaria were established by decree on July 12, 1934, whereby Brazil's diplomatic mission based in Bucharest was established cumulatively with Bulgaria. The Plenipotentiary Minister of Brazil in Romania, Hildebrando Pompeu Pinto Accioly, presented his letters of credence as non-resident representative of Brazil in Sofia on November 17, 1934. Hildebrando Accioly was succeeded by José de Paula Rodrigues Alves, accredited as non-resident representative in Sofia in 1937.

Brazil and Bulgaria suspended, though not officially severed, diplomatic relations during World War II.

Between 1956 and 1961 Brazil and Bulgaria began negotiations to restore diplomatic relations. In 1961, the two countries reached an agreement, by exchange of notes, whereby Brazil and Bulgaria committed themselves to opening legations. In the same year a Bulgarian Legation was opened in Rio de Janeiro, and the Bulgarian Minister Plenipotentiary, Yordan Stefanov, presented his letters of credence on June 15, 1962. The Brazilian Government appointed Armando Braga Ruy Barbosa as the first Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary resident in Sofia, in 1963. In 1974, the legations of Brazil and Bulgaria were elevated to Embassy status.

In July 2000, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nadezhda Mikhailova visited Brazil in a South American tour aimed at broadening the scope of Bulgarian foreign policy. In January 2005, a trip to Brazil was organized for President Georgi Parvanov (2002-2012), the first official visit of a Bulgarian president to Brazil. On that occasion, the Bulgarian Commercial Representation was reopened in São Paulo, an office that succeeded the Consulate in that city, closed in 1997.

Between 2011 and 2019, a total of 8 high-level meetings took place, including the first visit of a Brazilian President to Bulgaria and of a Bulgarian Prime Minister to Brazil.

The most recent presidential-level visit was that of President Rosen Plevneliev to Brazil, on February 1-3, 2016. Coming from the Bulgarian private sector, Plevneliev was accompanied by an extensive delegation of businessmen (from the areas of information technology, engineering, farming, food industry and construction) and, in addition to the official agenda in Brasilia, held business meetings in São Paulo, with a view to deepening bilateral trade.

In 2019, three bilateral contacts were held between Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva: (i) Ministerial Conference for the Promotion of a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, in Warsaw, on February 14; (ii) a telephone call, on April 24; and (iii) General Debate of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, in September 2020.

The excellent level of political dialogue has resulted in the conclusion of cooperation agreements with Bulgaria in several areas, such as education, diplomacy, economy, sports, trade, and culture, among others. In the last years, it was also possible to advance in negotiations of agreements in the legal area.

Brazil and Bulgaria also have a long tradition of mutual support in international forums, both in terms of applications and multilateral agenda issues. Bulgaria supported the Brazilian initiative to create the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary and sent a representative to the 67th plenary meeting of the International Whaling Commission, which was held in Florianopolis from September 10-14, 2018. In turn, at the 42nd meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Brazil gave support to the introduction of amendments to the text of the decision regarding the Pirin and Nessebar National Park sites.

It is also worth mentioning the cooperation that has been provided to the Bulgarian government by Brazil in recent years regarding its missions in Antarctica. Cooperation with South American countries, particularly Brazil, has improved the logistics of transporting Bulgarian expeditions to their Antarctic base on Livingstone Island. Currently, the Bulgarian explorers use a route that passes through Chile (Punta Arenas - President Eduardo Frei Montalva Base), in a Brazilian Air Force aircraft, a Hercules C-130.

In 2020, Bulgaria was included in the Undergraduate Exchange Program (PEC-G). Bulgarian students will be able to join the next selection process for PEC-G in 2021.

In the cultural sphere, the Embassy of Brazil in Sofia has been dedicated to disseminating Brazilian culture and promoting the teaching of the Portuguese language. Every year, the Embassy has been publishing, in bilingual editions, books of Brazilian writers, such as Clarice Lispector and Nelson Rodrigues, and performing Brazilian classical and popular music.

Bilateral Trade reached USD 137 million in 2020 (-27% change from 2019). Exports totaled USD 84 million (-36%), imports USD 53 million (-6%) and the surplus was of USD 31 million. The main exported products were copper ores (81%); tobacco (4%) and roasted coffee (3%). The main imported products were soybean meal and animal feed (22%); instruments and measuring devices (11%) and electrical appliances (8%).

Chronology of bilateral relations