The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry proposes the closing of 7 diplomatic missions abroad, Minister Nikolay Mladenov announced.

For the very first time, Mladenov mentioned the names of the countries, in which the Bulgarian embassies will be proposed for closing to the Bulgarian Council of Ministers. They are: Sudan, Angola, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Thailand, Mexico and Tunisia.

In order for the closing process to go smoothly enough, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry considers temporarily sending additional diplomats in the neighboring countries of those mentioned.

The choice is based on a scrutinizing financial analysis and on the necessity to optimize the system, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

"The closings should not be read as a negative evaluation about the mutual relations between Bulgaria and those nations.", Minister Mladenov affirmed.

"Some 15 employees will return", the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Vesela Cherneva, clarified.

As a part of the optimization strategy, an additional 101 Bulgarian employees in foreign diplomatic missions will return to Bulgaria. Among these, 21 are diplomats.

In June 2010, it was reported that Bulgaria considers closing a total of 30 of its diplomatic missions abroad.

Currently, Bulgaria has 83 embassies, 6 permanent representations, 20 consular offices, and 2 diplomatic bureaus.

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