Deputy Minister Georg Georgiev Discusses Religious Freedoms with US Deputy Chief of Mission
11 June 2020 News
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev received US Deputy Chief of Mission to Bulgaria Justin P. Friedman. The Bulgarian government’s measures for combating antisemitism, xenophobia and hate speech were among the topics of the discussion.
In his capacity as National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism, Georg Georgiev noted that Bulgaria has achieved considerable success in these areas in the last three years. Bulgaria has been part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for two years already and the Lukov March rally was prevented from taking place in Sofia in February 2020, for the first time in 17 years. This event had triggered strong international reactions.
“Bulgarian institutions are working actively to counter acts of intolerance and react immediately in such situations,” Deputy Minister Georgiev said. He went on to add that, as a result of cooperation with non-governmental organizations, as National Coordinator, he had filed a number of reports on the sale of souvenirs carrying Nazi symbols and on act of intolerance and hatred.
Deputy Chief of Mission Justin P. Friedman said that the United States appreciated the Bulgarian government’s efforts to combat discrimination, intolerance and antisemitism, asserting that this was reflected in the State Department’s 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom, which was published yesterday. He went on to add that the US Embassy would continue to work with all Bulgarian institutions in this area.