Education minister Prof Georgi Valchev and France's ambassador to Bulgaria, Marie Dumoulin, discussed closer ties between the two countries in science and higher education, the ministry's press office said.
They also talked about teaching science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), Bulgarian studies and Bulgarian literature in France, and French lessons in Bulgarian schools.
The ministry wants universities in the two countries to work together more and share facilities and experts. One of its goals for the next few years is to link universities more closely to the real economy, and it is counting on French experience here too.
That experience could also help train teachers at the STEM centres. The national centre is in Sofia, and the regional ones are in Shumen, Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad.
Dumoulin asked about the ministry's plans for more STEM teaching. She said Bulgaria is France's main EU partner in research and development. That is a source of pride, she said, but the two sides could work together even more. In her view, students and young scientists should learn more about mobility and career options in the EU. They should also gain knowledge and skills that match what the economy needs.
Dumoulin hopes French teaching will not lose ground in schools as the focus on the exact sciences grows.
Valchev said Bulgaria needs more experts in maths, physics, chemistry and biology, but not at the cost of a broad education in the humanities. "In higher education especially, the university must keep its role of shaping people with a wide outlook, who can understand a changing world," the minister said. He said the ministry has "excellent, well-established partnerships" with many French universities.
He said the wish to make Bulgarian literature better known in France "is not an end in itself". "We are looking for ways for our contemporary literature, written by a very talented generation of Bulgarian authors, to reach more French readers," Valchev said. He hopes more experts will promote it in France.
French readers know many contemporary Bulgarian authors through the translations of Prof Marie Vrinat.
Bulgaria and France continue to back Bulgarian Sunday schools in France, which about 1,400 children attend. Worldwide there are 401 such schools in 43 countries on six continents, with nearly 40,000 pupils. The state funds them with more than €8m.
In July, at the 19th annual conference of the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad (ABUCH) in the Great Hall of Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski", deputy education minister Prof Dr Eng Senia Terzieva called the Sunday schools one of the most successful state policies for working with the diaspora.