site.btaVice President Popova Meets Bulgarian Community in Eastern Serbia

Vice President Popova Meets Bulgarian Community in Eastern Serbia

Bossilegrad, Serbia, September 21 (BTA) - Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova met here Monday representatives of the Bulgarian community in Bossilegrad and later conferred with the mayor, Vladimir Zahariev. She told BTA that meeting Bulgarians in Serbia is the highlight of her visit - since September 20 - and also that it is dominated by the upcoming Day of the Declaration of Independence of Bulgaria marked on September 22.

She also had a meeting with members of the Bulgarian community in Nis and will have more meetings in Dimitrovgrad.

"The Bulgarian [cultural] societies [in Serbia] need to unite, to start speaking to each other and maybe form an association to represent them to the Serbian authorities. It is the only way to help Serbia successfully close the negotiating chapters for goodneighbourliness and minorities' integration. It will also help build a united Bulgarian minority," Popova said.

She said that it is painful for her to see how divided the Bulgarian societies in Serbia are. "If there is no unity for a common cause, whatever the level, no policy can be successful," the Vice President added.

In Bossilegrad, she presented awards to students who have participated in a Foreign Ministry projects for extracurricular activities during the summer months. The project includes activities in sport, art, environmental protection and socialization aimed to encourage interests in a variety of fields among children.