site.btaPM Gerdjikov Visits Bosilegrad, Serbia

Bosilegrad, April 13 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Ognyan Gerdjikov visited the Serbian town of Bosilegrad to open the 24th edition of the International Children's Easter Festival.

The festival is organized by Alexander Dimitrov, Chairman of the local GLAS Association and BTA's correspondent in the town.

Bosilegrad is one of two towns with a predominantly Bulgarian population in an area in Southeastern Serbia known in Bulgaria as "the Western Outlands". After its defeat in World War I, Bulgaria lost it under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.

Gerdjikov was welcomed by Bosilegrad Mayor Vladimir Zahariev. A meeting with the National Council of the Bulgarian Minority in Bosilegrad was attended by Bulgaria's Ambassador to Serbia Radko Vlaykov, as well as by Edvin Sougarev, Consul General in Nis, Caribrod (Dimitrovgrad) Mayor Vladica Dimitrov and representatives of the Bulgarian minority.

Later on Thursday Gerdjikov held a working meeting with Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.

Bosilegrad Mayor Vladimir Zahariev, who chairs the National Council of the Bulgarian Minority, proposed an initiative for reconciliation between the two countries. "We should know and respect history, but more importantly, we should build a better future for the two fraternal nations," he said.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister said the revolutionary Vassil Levski was not just a Bulgarian hero - he fought for the freedom of all Balkan countries. Gerdjikov added that he was very happy to be able to pay homage at the monument to Levski in Bosilegrad together with Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic.

For his part, Dacic said that Levski is a symbol of freedom. The Bulgarians and the Serbs have many things in common and should concentrate on the values which bring them closer. Misunderstanding breeds violence, he said. Dacic also stated that the two countries should work towards the bright future of their citizens and their children and should build a more democratic, tolerant society. Serbia will work towards stable relations between the two countries, he said.

Dacic said that every time when the relations between the two countries are discussed, the talk is of transport corridors, of the Nis-Sofia motorway, but not about the problems of the local people. The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister called on the Bulgarian Prime Minister to jointly support the economic development of the Western Outlands. He said that politicians are prone to discussing theoretical issues whereas the people in the Western Outlands need real acts that will ensure their normal life and prevent them from leaving the region.

Speaking to reporters Gerdjikov said that after his meeting with the Bulgarian minority earlier in the day, a question was raised about having a single border check between the two countries, which will put an end to waiting lines and slow crossing of the border. The Bulgarian PM said he raised the issue with Dacic, noting that he did not think the EU would ban such an initiative, "given that the EU is Serbia's perspective".

After the meeting with the National Council of the Bulgarian Minority, Gerdjikov told a news conference at BTA's Press Club in Bosilegrad: "I am preparing a file for the next cabinet, which will be headed by the former and future prime minister, Boyko Borissov. That file will contain many recommendations to the new cabinet, including the problems of the Western Outlands." Gerdjikov said the recommendations were mainly about education and boosting the economy through investments.

The Prime Minister also said: "Bulgaria is interested to see Serbia become an EU member as soon as possible because this will give a fresh impetus to bilateral relations." He added that he would guarantee Sofia's readiness to help Serbia close the negotiating chapters in its accession talks with the EU.

BTA's Press Club in Bosilegrad, its first one abroad, opened a year and a half ago. Since then it has been a venue for meetings and events at which the problems of people in the Western Outlands are presented to the people who are to solve them, said BTA Director General Maxim Minchev.