site.btaVice President Meets Bulgarians in Albania

Vice President Iliana Iotova discussed with representatives of the local authorities the opportunities for expanding the study of Bulgarian language and cooperation between Bulgarian and Albanian universities, the press centre of the head of State said on Thursday.

“You can always count on my support and the support of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and the Bulgarian state,” Vice President Iotova assured the representatives of the Bulgarian national minority from the region of the Albanian district of Golo Berdo. In the village of Golemi Ostrani, the Vice President was welcomed according to the old Bulgarian custom - with bread and salt and folk songs and dances. Iotova is visiting Albania on the eve of the national census - a very important moment for the Bulgarian community. This is the first census since its official recognition in 2017, immediately after which the Vice President was the first Bulgarian statesman to visit the Bulgarian minority.

Iliana Iotova committed to raise the issues raised by the community, the main one being infrastructure, at the upcoming top-level meetings in Tirana.

“The Bulgarian minority is the natural bridge between Bulgaria and Albania. A nation is stronger when it appreciates the other ethnic communities with which it lives in one country," the Vice President said and thanked the local authorities for their good attitude. "Language and culture bring people together," said the headmaster of the school in the village of Golemi Ostrani, host of the talks with representatives of Bulgarian associations. "We are indebted to the young people on the subject of education, we still have a lot to achieve," Iotova stressed and noted the desire to open more Bulgarian Sunday schools. "Bulgaria has always helped students from Albania to study in Bulgarian universities," the mayor of the municipality of Bulchiza, Festime Miestri, who is also a Bulgarian citizen, pointed out. She stressed that Bulgarians are an example of a minority in Albanian society.