The success of the Bulgarian community in Hungary should serve as an example for our compatriots abroad. Nowadays Bulgaria and Hungary are not only strategic partners but also friends and to some great extent this is due to you and your ancestors. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said at a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Hungary held in Budapest on Tuesday.  Representatives of the Bulgarian Republican “Self-government” and local government authorities, the Association of the Bulgarians in Hungary, of the Bulgarian Cultural and Educational Association and the Bulgarian School for Native Language in the Hungarian capital, took part in the meeting.

President Rosen Plevneliev informed the representatives of the Bulgarian community about the results of the meetings held with the Hungarian head of state Janos Ader and the National Assembly Speaker Laszlo Kover. “The bilateral agreements signed today will further deepen the cooperation between Bulgaria’s and Hungary’s cultural institutions and will give Bulgarians and Hungarians the chance to come to know each other better,” the head of state said.

The success of our embassies abroad will be evaluated by their work with the Bulgarian communities abroad, President Rosen Plevneliev said and greeted our compatriots in Hungary for their achievements in preserving the Bulgarian language and culture among the heirs of a couple of generations of immigrants. The head of stated firmly stated that with the growing economic opportunities of our country, Bulgaria would turn into an increasingly proactive factor in the life of the Bulgarians living abroad. “You can also contribute to strengthening the economic ties between Bulgaria and Hungary by investing and working in Bulgaria,” Plevneliev said in his address to the Bulgarian community in Hungary.

The Bulgarians living in Hungary, on their part,  called for the country’s support for the resumption of the full-day form of education at the Bulgarian school in Budapest and an alleviated procedure for granting Bulgarian citizenship to the representatives of the Bulgarian community. “We aim at preserving the ties with our motherland and we are happy that Bulgaria has not forgotten us,” said Dr Dancho Musev, chairperson of the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government. In 2014 the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the first Association of the Bulgarians in Hungary will be commemorated and the event will be marked by issuing a commemorative postage stamp.

The Bulgarian School for Native Language functions with the support of the Bulgarian Republican Self-government. BRS is striving to expand its activity by attracting the other community generations.  This will be achieved by offering a course for adults.  BRS has also provided support for the functioning of a study-room for children aged three to six.  The school will also offer training courses for children from provincial towns and villages.

On the first day of his official visit, the head of state saw an exhibition titled “Bulgarian Gardeners”, dedicated to the first Bulgarian settlers in Hungary, hosted in the premises of the Bulgarian Republican Self-government.