site.btaBulgarian Ambassador to Serbia Praises Ethnic Bulgarians' Efforts to Preserve Traditions, Roots

Bulgaria's Ambassador in Belgrade, Petko Doykov, Saturday said he was proud of the ethnic Bulgarians in Tsaribrod (Dimitrovgrad) Municipality and of Bulgaria's readiness to support them. He attended a formal meeting of the Council of the municipality with a predominantly ethnic Bulgarian population.

The meeting marks the municipality's holiday.

The diplomat said in his address: "Every time I visit this beautiful town for its holiday, I feel happy and proud of the energy my compatriots put into preserving their traditions and Bulgarian roots."

He noted that young people now travel a lot and feel like citizens of the world, but they should know who they are and remember their duty to their ancestors. "I would like to assure young people that Bulgaria is not a foreign country to them. It is a place where they will always be welcomed with love and care. It is close not only because of the close languages, culture and history, but also in purely geographical terms," Ambassador Doykov said, adding that Sofia offers opportunities for education, for starting a business, access to quality health care and other services, and an opportunity to visit cultural sites.

The diplomat advised young people to take advantage of the short distances "because you are the generation for which 'border' is an archaic word".

He cited as an example of cooperation the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria commissioned in 2023.

In his words, the sharing of common European ideas, not only in politics, helps to bring people together. The idea of democracy is one of them, he said, and thanked  the media representatives at the event. "Because one of the most important aspects of democracy is freedom of speech and the possibility for it to reach a maximum number of people - and in a language they can understand," the diplomat said.

Another important topic is the clean environment and Bulgaria will continue to support Serbia's environmental efforts, the Ambassador said.

The formal event was attended by many members of the public and officials. The Municipal Council meeting is the central event for Tsaribrod Municipality on its holiday, marked on the day of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Attending were the Bulgarian Consul General in Nis, Dimitar Tsanev, Rayna Mandzhukova, Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, Bulgarian and Serbian municipal mayors and deputy mayors and Serbian government representatives. Also attending were Bulgarian News Agency Director General Kiril Valchev and Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev.