ces. The ministry, in the
prosecution of its duties and functions, employs a minister, two first
deputy ministers, four deputy ministers, and a secretary general, who
are assisted by the heads of eight geographic departments. In 1973 these
departments were designated to handle affairs with the Soviet Union,
other socialist states, the Balkans, Western Europe, Asia, the Arab-bloc
countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas.

The functional departments include: administrative, consular, political,
research and planning, cultural, documentation and archives, economic,
finance and accounting, international organization, inspectors,
personnel, press and cultural affairs, protocol, and legal. A committee
for church affairs and a diplomatic service bureau, although not
classified as regular departments, function as such. Also included is
the position of disarmament negotiator.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade functions under the direction and
supervision of a minister, a first deputy minister, and six deputy
ministers, who are almost always high-ranking members of the BKP. The
ministry itself is organized into thirteen geographic offices and seven
departments. The different geographic offices handle trade agreements
with the Soviet Union, other socialist countries, developed capitalist
countries, Asia and Latin America, and the Arab and African countries.
Other offices include foreign exchange planning and accounting,
coordination, leadership and control of foreign trade organizations,
currency and finance, economic planning, market conditions, planning,
and personnel. There are departments for statistics, secretariat and
protocol, legal and departmental arbitration, accounting and auditing,
administration, labor and wages, and control inspectorate.
Additionally, there are offices and sections not falling under any
specific category but existing independently. They are: an office for a
trade fair director general, trade representatives, a foreign trade
research institute, and a state inspection on the quality of goods for
export.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Relations with Communist Countries

Bulgaria's foreign policy and foreign trade are circumscribed to a great
extent within the alliances formed by the Soviet Union and the communist
countries of Eastern Europe. In the early 1970s this tightly knit,
although polycentric, group continued to expect and did receive
Bulgaria's participation in preserving the status quo i