On 17th and 18th of June 2019, an International Conference "Bulgarian-Croatian scientific, cultural and spiritual relations" was held, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). It was organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology as a result of the bilateral cooperation between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (CASC). Bulgarian and 14 Croatian scholars participated in the conference. They were representatives from the partner organizations as well as from other scientific institutions in Bulgaria and Croatia.

The event started with a welcoming speech read by Prof. Yoanna Spassova on behalf of the President of the BAS Acad. Julian Revalski. Mrs. Ljerka Alajbeg, Ambassador of Croatia to Bulgaria, also welcomed the participants and attentively followed the conference. During the first plenary session, which took place in the "Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, there was a presentation of the corpus with articles and studies "The Bulgarians and Zagreb" as a result of the previous conference held in Zagreb in 2017. The following meetings took place in the "Acad. Ivan Evstratiev Geshov" Hall at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and at the Institute of Balkan Studies. The reports covered topics from different historical eras and periods from the Middle Ages to nowadays. The intense relationship between the two brotherly nations led to revealing new and unknown facts.

Based on the bilateral agreement between BAS and CASC, signed in 1997, two scientific projects between scholars from the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology and Croatian partners from the Department of Historical Research and the Institute of Croatian Literature, Theater and Music are currently being carried out. These are the projects Religion, state and society for Bulgarians and Croats throughout the centuries, led by Prof. Svetlozar Eldarov, Dr. habil. and Prof. Damir Karbich, and Bulgarians and Croats in Modern Europe. Cultural Identities and Parallels, led by Assoc. Prof. Antoaneta Balcheva, PhD and Prof. Harvojka Mihanovich-Salopek. They rank among the most successful projects under the bilateral agreements of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in the field of cultural and historical heritage and hational identity. Thus far, 16 joint scientific conferences have been organized, all of which led to publishing of collections with a total volume of more than 4,000 pages, containing 250 studies and articles by Bulgarian and Croatian scholars. By content and contributions they constitute a true encyclopedia of historical links between the two nations throughout the ages and nowadays. A number of monographs, studies, and articles have been published which expand and enrich our knowledge of Bulgarian-Croatian relationships in the past as well as today.