On 11th of July H. E. Ms. Sayanaa Lkhagvasuren, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Republic of Bulgaria

gave a reception in the beautiful garden of the embassy on the occasion of the national holiday of the country. NAADAM was attended by numerous guests, including Ms. Maria Gabriel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ms. Rositsa Kirova, Vice-President of the National Assembly, ministers, MPs, ambassadors, diplomats, Mongolians living in Bulgaria and friends.

It has been a long time since Sofia felt the spirit and tasted the aromas of this wonderful Asian country. As soon as guests entered, they could experience Mongolia in the restored yurt in the courtyard, in which were displayed traditional elements of the country's lifestyle and achievements. In front of it, on a special table, a calligrapher wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper in Old Mongolian and provided them with a brochure with information about the art of Mongolia.

The official part began with the anthems of the two countries, after which H. E. Ms. Sayanaa Lkhagvasuren welcomed the guests:

On behalf of the team at the Embassy of Mongolia to the Republic of Bulgaria, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to all our guests who have accepted our invitation to the reception being hosted on the occasion of the National day of Mongolia – NAADAM.

Naadam is the state traditional and historic celebration of all Mongolians. The roots of this celebration go back to the period of Hunnu state in the 1st-2nd century BC as it has become the grand tradition for Mongolians to come together to celebrate our statehood in the beautiful sunny days of summer.

This year, we, Mongolians, celebrate the 2232nd anniversary of the Statehood of Mongolia, the 817th anniversary of the Great Mongol Empire, the 112th anniversary of Restoring the National Freedom and Independence, and the 102nd anniversary of the People’s Revolution of Mongolia.

Mongolian Naadam is enlisted in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage and registered as "World cultural heritage".

During Naadam, cultural performances and traditional Mongolian sports competitions such as national wrestling, horse racing and archery are held and enjoyed by Mongolians throughout the country.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

In the course of 73 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Bulgaria, our friendly relations and cooperation have been progressing in all spheres regardless of the geographic distance, and our rich history of partnership is being expanding to new horizons.

With my excellent Embassy team, I remain committed to deepen our bilateral relations, and using this opportunity I would like thank all our colleagues and partners for their great cooperation and support.

The Government of Mongolia has announced the year of 2023-2025 as "Year to Welcome to Mongolia", and until December 31st, 2025, citizens of 34 countries are waived from tourist visa requirements, and I would like to humbly ask your cooperation in spreading this information to the general public so they can enjoy touring around our beautiful country.

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for being here with our Embassy team and Mongolians, who are studying, working and living in Bulgaria, to celebrate our glorious Naadam, and I wish all of you good health and success.

May all your aspirations do come true!

And now, we are ready to present you Mongolian traditional food and cultural performances prepared by the Embassy team and our students.

We have invited two performers from Ankara and Prague. Miss Tserendejid, who is studying in the Master’s program at the Musical academy in Ankara, will present you a Mongolian musical instrument called Morin Huur, which is translated as Horse violin. And Miss Nomin has come from Prague to present the magical performance of Mongolian circus contortionism. Please enjoy the performance and have a good evening!

The talent of the artists really impressed the guests at the reception. The specialities of Mongolian cuisine and wonderful wines also impressed them. The good mood for the rest of the evening was ensured by the saxophonist Milen Stoykov, who charmed everyone with his wonderful jazz performances.

Photos: "Diplomatic Spectrum"

Above: H. E. Ms. Sayanaa Lkhagvasuren, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Republic of Bulgaria, welcomes her guests