Vice President Iliana Iotova visited the Bulgarian community in the Hungarian city of Halasztelek, the President's press office said on Thursday. In Halasztelek, known as the Bulgarian town, the first Bulgarian self-government in Hungary was established. To this day, the city sign has two inscriptions of its name, in Hungarian and in Bulgarian.
The Bulgarian community in the country is like a natural bridge in the relations between Bulgaria and Hungary, said Iotova in Halasztelek.
The Vice President paid tribute at a monument honouring Bulgarian gardeners, who were mainly emigrants from Bulgaria in the past. Iotova spoke with representatives of the local community and the Bulgarian self-government in Halasztelek. She stressed the historical ties between the Bulgarian and Hungarian people and thanked the Hungarian state for the policy towards the various ethnic communities on their territory supporting the preservation of their language, culture, and identity. "This is a forward-looking policy with the belief that a nation is rich in the diversity of its communities. In the global world, it is even more important to preserve our identity, to know our roots, in order to build our future," Iotova pointed out.
She presented to the head of the Bulgarian self-government in Halastelek, Nikola Kushev, the Vice President's Badge of Honour for his many years of service to the development of the Bulgarian community in Hungary. The Vice President is visiting Hungary at the invitation of the Bulgarian community on the occasion of Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship Day.
A general exhibition on the theme of "Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship" will also be presented at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Budapest.
/DT/
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