Svetlan Stoev: Bulgarians in Ukraine bring our countries closer and enrich our relations
25 August 2021 News
“I congratulate you on the 200th anniversary of Bolgrad. Today, in Bolgrad and the Bolgrad region, in Odessa and Odessa region and in other parts of Ukraine live many Ukrainian citizens with Bulgarian roots. They are loyal citizens of Ukraine, a natural link that brings together the peoples of Bulgaria and Ukraine and enriches our bilateral cooperation in fields such as education, science and culture”. With those words, the Minister Of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev welcomed the citizens of the city on the occasion of its bicentennial anniversary. He, together with the governor of Odessa region Sergei Grinevetsky and the mayor of the city Sergei Dimitriev, opened the anniversary celebrations in the city.
In his welcoming speech, our Foreign Minister highlighted the special connection and place of Bolgrad in the Bulgarian history and gave a high evaluation of the strong spirit of ethnic Bulgarians, who have learned to value unity and friendship, living in harmony with other ethnic groups in Ukraine.
In this context, our Foreign Minister reaffirmed the consistent support of the Republic of Bulgaria for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, for its European and Euro-Atlantic orientation. The present representatives of the Ukrainian state expressed their gratitude for the participation of our country in the important for Ukraine Inaugural Session Of The International Crimean Platform Summit and the celebrations in Kiev on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence.
“We welcome the current tendencies in the Ukrainian society in legislative and practical terms, aimed at protecting ethnic minorities, allowing them to preserve and develop their linguistic and cultural identity in accordance with the European standards,” said Svetlan Stoev.
Before that, our Foreign Minister was greated in the old Bulgarian tradition with bread and salt in the historical Bulgarian high school “G. S. Rakovski”, where he held a meeting with mayor Sergei Dimitriev and representatives of Bulgarian companies and organizations in Ukraine invited by him. The meeting was also attended by the governor of Odessa region Sergei Grinevetsky.
“I am amazed by what my eyes see here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the efforts to preserve the Bulgarian spirit and for carrying Bulgaria in your hearts,” said Minister Stoev. During the meeting, he announced the official congratulatory addresses sent on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Bolgrad by vice president Iliana Yotova and National Assembly speaker Iva Miteva and presented Bulgarian books to the high school library.
Answering questions from the Bulgarian community during the meeting, the Bulgarian First Diplomat assured that the topic of the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine is always a main priority on the agenda in the contact between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian authorities. He reminded his meeting with the Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on August 23, during which he expressed his expectations to open a consular office in Bolgrad, which would facilitate the Bulgarian community’s connection with Bulgaria. Minister Stoev also noted that he especially thanked the Ukrainian authorities for the preservation and consolidation of the Bolgrad region in 2020.
Within the discussion, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister reminded that, so far, our country has funded projects in Ukraine under our official development assistance worth EUR 850,000, most of which are related to the prosperity of the 200,000 Bulgarian diaspora.
In Bolgrad, together with the official guests of the celebrations, our Foreign Minister paid homage to the monument of the city’s founder, General Ivan Vazov, and visited the Church of Holy Transfiguration, consecrated in 1838. Within his visit in the Bolgrad region and Odessa region, Minister Stoev briefly visited also the village of Zarya, inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians, which has won the competition for the most developed village in the Odessa region four times in the last 20 years. The village has its own ethnic museum and a monument dedicated to its founders, who came from Bulgarian territories 200 years ago. The Minister Of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria received the Bolgrad-200 badge of honor and a diploma on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of the city.
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