site.btaTen Bulgarians Invited to Attend US President-Elect Donald Trump's Inauguration

A total of ten Bulgarians have been reported to be invited to US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington,  D.C., on January 20. These include President Rumen Radev, Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov and eight others reported by the Bulgarian Congress of the United States of America (BCUSA).

Radev said that there will be no representative of the presidential institution, but the talks at the highest political level will continue. "I have an invitation, but I cannot go to this event myself. You know the American side and the White House does not invite foreign guests to an inauguration. Such invitations come from senators, they come from various associations, but it is much more important for us to develop our relations with the United States, our strategic partner and ally, at all levels. I think that we will continue to work in this direction," the Bulgarian head of State stressed. 

Kostadin Kostadinov, also posted photos of his invitation to Trump’s inauguration, which he said he could not attend because he got it too late, his party said in a press release, which recalled Vazrazhdane’s links with the US Republican Party.

BUCSA said on its Facebook page that it had received a limited number of invitations from the House of Representatives to attend the main event and accompanying activities. 

The ceremony will be attended by: BCUSA President and founder Pete Kristofferson/Plamen Krastev, a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly of Bulgaria, an entrepreneur and consultant who has been living in the US since 2000; Assoc. Prof. Georgi Nikolov, head of the Department of Regional Development at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia; and Dr Ekaterina Bogomilova, Director of the Nuclear Security international Master's programme at UNWE. Also invited to attend are: nuclear engineer Dr Boyan Sechenski, the first head of the Westinghouse office in Bulgaria and now a programme manager at the nuclear energy supplier in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Valentin Milushev, MP of GERB in the 51st National Assembly; Venelin Dimitrov, founder and CEO of the SoftGroup software company; Nadya Marinova, founder and Editor-in-Chief of b2b Media; and Prof. Gergana Yordanova, BCUA Vice President, lecturer at George Mason University, and an expert in financial intelligence.

The eight Bulgarians are also invited to participate in several accompanying events meant to facilitate academic and business contacts and to strengthen economic, political, cultural, and educational ties between Bulgaria and the US. 

BCUSA has also extended invitations to various institutions and individuals from Turkiye, the US, and Spain, it transpires from the NGO's post. Among those who have confirmed their attendance are representatives from academia, business, the legislature, and investment consultants from the four countries.

BCUSA was established in the United States as a not-for-profit NGO with the mission to create and strengthen robust political, economic, cultural, and educational connections and to foster successful business relationships between Bulgaria, the Balkans, and the US Congress.