05.11.2025
The Tishk International University (TIU) in Erbil, the Autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, hosted the 7th International Conference on Accounting, Business, Economics and Politics (ICABEP 2025). The event took place in partnership with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” on October 29–30, 2025.
The conference’s organizing committee included Prof. Eleonora Stancheva-Todorova, PhD, and Assoc. Prof. Todor Yalamov, PhD, and Prof. Albena Vutsova, PhD, as part of the scientific committee. Other academic partners in the conference were the University of Szczecin (Poland), Salahaddin University (Iraq), and Yarmouk University (Jordan).
Assoc. Prof. Todor Yalamov was invited to conduct a workshop on the use of various software tools and databases for preparing systematic literature reviews, while Prof. Stancheva presented a paper titled “Exploring the Integration of Sustainability Reporting Standards: Challenges and Opportunities”. The Bulgarian participation was supported by the TWIN4ECO project, aimed at establishing the faculty as an institution of significant regional and international importance in the field of innovation and the challenges of sustainable development.
This was the third consecutive visit to Tishk International University by representatives of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, supported by Mr. Anastas Terzobaliev, an alumnus of the Faculty, entrepreneur, researcher, and expert on Middle Eastern and Arab affairs.
For his contribution to supporting the internationalization of Tishk International University, Mr. Terzobaliev received a high academic award, presented by Prof. Idris Hadi Salih, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of TIU, former Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Iraq, former Minister of Education in the Kurdistan Regional Government, and former Rector of Salahaddin University and Tishk International University.
In the photo: Prof. Idris Hadi Salih (left), former Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Iraq and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of TIU, and Mr. Anastas Terzobaliev (right).
During the visit to Erbil, the Bulgarian delegation met with Mr. Fawzi Hariri, Chief of Staff to the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Prof. Serwan Baban, Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors and former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government. The meetings addressed a range of topics of mutual interest, including the strengthening of academic and business cooperation between Bulgaria and Iraqi Kurdistan.
From left to right: Prof. Baban, Mr. Terzobaliev, Mr. Hariri, Assoc. Prof. Yalamov, Prof. Salih.
During the conference, Assoc. Prof. Yalamov also discussed opportunities for deepening the relationships of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” with Arab universities in talks with Prof. Sultan T. Abu-Orabi, Rector of Tishk International University and long-serving former Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, based in Amman, Jordan.
From left to right: Prof. Hussein, Prof. Sultan, Assoc. Prof. Yalamov, Mr. Terzobaliev.
In discussions with Prof. Jaafar, Director of the International Relations Office at TIU, the delegation reviewed the launch of the SINTACT Project, led by Prof. Albena Vutsova, PhD, which aims to strengthen international academic cooperation among universities across three continents — in Bulgaria, Romania, the United Kingdom, Japan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Iraq.