Bulgaria, Switzerland to Cooperate on Scientific Research

Abouot EUR 5 M will be provided under the newly ratified program between Bulgaria and Switzerland for scientific research, student exchange programs and scholarships. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria and Switzerland have ratified a program for bilateral cooperation, which would provide EUR 5 M in the next four years for scientific research, student exchange programs and scholarships.

The announcement was made by a representative of the Swiss Embassy to Sofia, who participated in an international conference "The future of French Language: educational and professional goals."

It was announced at the forum that the French language is losing its positions in Europe (-17%) and the United States (-1%) and that it is spoken by a total of 220 million people in the world.

For the past 20 years, the number of French-speaking people in Africa increased five times. Middle East, Asia and Oceania have also registered a significant increase.

The forum included more than 70 representatives of Bulgaria, Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland and France.

It was organized by the Regional Francophone Center for Central and Eastern Europe (CREFECO), in cooperation with the Classical and Modern Philology Department at the Sofia University.

The goal of the meeting was to stimulate the dialogue between the teachers of French language, students and business.