“Meeting the Bulgarians in Greece is one of the most important moments in my visit because you are among the major prerequisites and have contributed to strengthening the relations between Bulgaria and Greece in the past years.” This is what Head of State Rumen Radev said in the Bulgarian Embassy in Athens, where he met representatives of the Bulgarian community in the Republic of Greece. Representatives of the local Bulgarian associations, teachers, medical doctors, culture activists and tens of our compatriots took part in the meeting.

The Head of State thanked our compatriots, who filled to capacity the hall in the Embassy, for their patriotic activities. “You pool efforts and establish cultural and educational associations, schools, media and thus you take care of the most important things – to make sure that our children grow up as Bulgarians, they preserve our folklore, traditions and self-awareness,” President Rumen Radev said.

“I am also informed about the problems you face in your everyday lives,” the Head of State said and assured our compatriots that the Bulgarian institutions work so as to improve their work with the Bulgarian community in Greece. The presidential administration closely observes the process of granting Bulgarian citizenship, Rumen Radev emphasized and added that he is ready to support the patriotic initiatives of our compatriots in Greece.

The Bulgarians in Athens raised a lot of issues such as speeding up the process of acquiring citizenship by children born in mixed marriages, settling the issue of the insurance rights of those working in Greece, ensuring a building for cultural activities of the Bulgarian associations, strengthening the support for the Bulgarian schools and kindergartens.

Earlier today President Radev held a meeting with Georgios Kaminis, Mayor of Athens, at which issues related to the Bulgarian community in the Greek capital were also discussed.