The conference was officially opened with a speech by the Rector of UNWE, Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, who highlighted Bulgaria's forthcoming adoption of the euro.

Special guests at the opening included the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mrs. Lyudmila Petkova, the Chair of the Economic and Social Council, Mrs. Zornitsa Dimitrova, the Chair of the Board of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, Mrs. Petya Dimitrova the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Metodi Metodiev, the Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petar Chobanov, the CEO of UniCredit Bulbank, Ms. Tsvetanka Mincheva, the CEO of First Investment Bank, Mr. Nikola Bakalov, and the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Development Bank, Ms. Delyana Ivanova.

The official guests participated in a discussion on Bulgaria's adoption of the euro as the national currency, which was part of Euro Week at UNWE.

The Forum was organized jointly by the Monetary Research Center, the Institute of Economics and Policies and the Finance Department of UNWE and the Union of Economists in Bulgaria.

Chief Assist. Dr. Diyana Miteva, Acting Director of the Institute of Economics and Policies, greeted the participants in the Conference and presented the guests. The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov greeted the participants in the Conference and outlined that the beginning of the Forum coincides with the opening of the new academic year at the UNWE.
"This Forum is part of our leading scientific events. I am convinced that the reports and discussions at the Conference will contribute to the search and finding solutions to cope with the challenges and rising inflation", pointed out Prof. Dimitrov.

"I would like to express thankfulness to all colleagues for their dedication and participation in this International Conference as well as the Finance and Accountancy Faculty. In the presence of his Dean Prof. Dr. Rumen Brusarsky, I would like to confirm that the dedication and intellectual inspiration are enormous, as well as the willingness to explore and share ideas with colleagues and partners", said Prof. Dr. Tatyana Hubenova-Delisivkova, President of the Union of Economists in Bulgaria and added: "For a consecutive year, huge efforts have been made to implement this Conference by its organizers in the face of Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Nikolay Nenovsky, Chief Assist. Dr. Diyana Miteva, all colleagues from the Finance Department and colleagues from the Union of Economists in Bulgaria. The topic of inflation is extremely important. According to the International Monetary Fund, the inflation will be difficult to overcome, so I hope the Conference will contribute to solve the problem".

The Dean of the Finance and Accountancy Faculty Prof. Dr. Rumen Brusarsky pointed out that in today's time of challenges, the topic of inflation is one of the most important for economists. He believes that this three-day forum will contribute to finding adequate solutions to cope with the inflationary processes.

The Eighth International Scientific Conference on Economic and Monetary Problems focused on the challenges in the context of pandemic and military circumstances was held at the UNWE.

The two-day Forum was organized by the Monetary Research Center and the Institute of Economics and Politics at the UNWE.

The Forum was opened by the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov who welcomed the participants and wished them fruitful work. He outlined the importance of the Conference topics related to the monetary and economic policy.

Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Nikolay Nenovsky, Director of the Monetary Research Center at UNWE and lecturer at the University of Picardy "Jules Verne" in Amiens, France, also welcomed the participants. "One of our sessions today is devoted to the memory of Prof. Xavier Richet who was one of the founders of this Conference ten years ago", said Prof. Nenovsky.

"I am glad that this Conference, organized by the UNWE in partnership with the Union of Economists in Bulgaria, has become a tradition that gives the opportunity to discuss current monetary problems, monetary policies, and financial issues", outlined Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Tatiana Hubenova-Delisivkova, President of the Union of Economists in Bulgaria.

Chief Assist. Dr. Diyana Miteva, Deputy Director for Research of the Institute of Economics and Politics at UNWE, reminded us that the last two Conferences were held entirely online because of the pandemic of Covid 19. "I am glad to see you in the hall today and I hope that next year we will also be able to welcome all of you live to our university. It is a tradition to bring together scientists from all over the world at this Conference. This year we have participants from Europe, USA, Russia, France as well as from the Republic of Djibouti and we hope to continue this tradition in the future", explained Chief Assist. Dr. Diyana Miteva.

During the Conference were discussed very important monetary and economic issues. Both empirical and theoretical research in the field of monetary and financial economics, international economics, political economy, economic and monetary history as well as the history of economic thought, management, and marketing were presented during the sessions of the Forum.

Partners of the event were the UNWE Finance Department, the Union of Economists in Bulgaria, the Finance Department and Accounting Department at St. Climent Ohridsky University of Sofia, LEFMI Research Laboratory, University of Amiens, France, Leo Research Laboratory, University of Orléans, France as well as the Institute of Public Finance, Bulgaria.