The diplomatic relations between Albania and Bulgaria were established in April 1913 and on 10 October 1922, Konstadin Boshniak presented his Letters of Credence as Head of Albanian Legation in Sofia. In March 1954, Albania and Bulgaria raised their diplomatic representation to the level of Embassies. From the early 60s onward the Embassies of the two countries were headed by Charges d`affaires and on 25th of January 1988, an agreement was concluded for an exchange of Ambassadors. As a European Union (EU) member, Bulgaria supports Albania's bid for membership of the EU.

History

The territory of modern Albania was part of the Bulgarian Empire during certain periods in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Most of Albania became part of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

in the early 840s during the rule of Khan Presian. Some coastal areas, such as the town of

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, remained under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

control during this time. The Byzantines gradually conquered the remainder of Albania with the decline of the First Bulgarian Empire, taking the last mountain fortresses in 1018–1019. During Byzantine rule, Albania became the center of a major, albeit unsuccessful, Bulgarian uprising. The last Bulgarian Emperor to govern the whole territory was

Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria, Ivan Asen I one of the founders of th ...

(1218–1241) of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The decline of Bulgaria continued and the country lost its last fortresses in Albania under Constantine Tikh Asen (1257–1277). Many Albanian Catholics participated in the 1688 Chiprovtsi Uprising against Ottoman rule. During the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

, many Bulgarian volunteers joined with Albanian çeta led by figures such as Çerçiz Topulli and Mihal Grameno. Also, Bulgaria aided Albania by printing Albanian books and newspapers at a time when the Albanian language was banned by the Ottoman Empire and neighboring conquerors. During the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

, Albanians helped Bulgaria and sent troops led by Isa Boletini. Some of these battles were the Ohrid-Debar Uprising, the Kresna-Razlog Uprising and other revolts. Even during the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

, there were many Albanian volunteers fighting side by side with the Bulgarians. Since then, many Bulgarians consider Albanians as friends and historical allies.

Albanians in Bulgaria

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

(, ''albantsi'') are presently a minority ethnic group in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(). Although once a larger population, there were only 278 Albanians recorded in the 2001 Bulgarian Census. Between the 15th and 17th century, some groups of Albanians (both

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

) settled in many parts of modern

northern Bulgaria Northern Bulgaria (), also called Moesia (, ''Mizija'') is the northern half of Bulgaria, located to the north of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally separates the country into a northern and a southern part. Besides the B ...

, along with a smaller group settled in southern

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

Bulgarians in Albania

In 2017, Albania officially recognized Bulgarians as an official ethnic minority in Albania. The Bulgarian ethnic minority has historically resided in the Eastern regions of Albania (mainly around the Korçë, Elbasan, and Dibër regions) although presently many identify as Macedonians. This has caused a diplomatic row between North Macedonia and Bulgaria over the identification of Albania’s Slavophones with North Macedonia accusing Bulgaria of attempting to “Bulgarianize” the minority group.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Albania has an embassy in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. * Bulgaria has an embassy in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albania-Bulgaria relations