Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin travelled to the Senegalese capital Dakar on February 19 in the latest leg of his African tour to boost support for Irina Bokova, Bulgaria's nominee in the forthcoming Unesco director general election.

Kalfin was the first high ranking Bulgarian government official to have visited Dakar since diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1967.

Previous stops on the tour included Kenya, South Afrrica, Namibia, Nigeria and Benin.

Like in Benin, Kalfin's hosts raised the issue of having a permanent Bulgarian diplomatic mission opened, Darik Radio reported, but Senegalese prime minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré received the same answer, with Kalfin not committing to any promises.

Although Bulgaria is a member of the International Organisation of the Francophonie, which comprises 56 countries where French is the dominant language spoken language or where there is a notable affiliation with the French culture, Bulgaria has diplomatic missions only in English-speaking African countries.

After the fall of communism, Bulgaria closed in 1990 most of the 45 diplomatic missions in northern and sub-Saharan Africa in French speaking countries.

Should Senegal back Bokova, currently Bulgaria's permanent representative at Unesco, it could unify the rest of the African vote in support for Bulgaria due to Senegal's traditional strong ties within the organisation, Darik reported.