On the 15th February, His Excellency Dr. Željko Jović, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Bulgaria,

and his wife hosted a reception on the occasion of the country's national holiday. The halls of the embassy were filled with hundreds of guests - Bulgarians, friends of Serbia, and Serbs living in our country.

Officially from the Bulgarian side, the reception was honored by the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Mrs. Iliana Yotova, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Mr. Ivan Demerdzhiev, the Minister of Health Mr. Asen Medzhidiev, the Minister of Economy and Industry Mr. Nikola Stoyanov, mayors and others. Famous MPs, politicians, journalists and cultural figures were also here.

The guests first listened to the anthems of both countries, and then to the welcoming words of H. E. Dr. Želko Jović and the Vice President Mrs. Iliana Yotova.

His Excellency stated that "the most important result of these three years that we have been together is the creation of a strong emotion and a trust, and also that together we have taken many steps forward." He noted that there is much more to come - like issues, also difficult issues that are hard to work on, and "this requires us to be completely frank with each other, because we are brothers, because we are neighbours and because we have to work to solve the problems and move towards a common and a better future."

His Excellency especially thanked those present for the daily support, for the help, for all the efforts they are making to achieve a good result, to speed up the movement forward, to be even more together and for the two sides to deepen their relations in all spheres - politics, economy, culture. "New bridges need to be built, not only between official institutions but, more importantly, between ordinary people."

The Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mrs. Iliana Yotova, addressed H. E. Dr. Želko Jović with best wishes for the entire Serbian people on her own behalf and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rumen Radev. She shared that there is probably much more to be desired about what has been done, what we are doing and what we have ambitions to do. But just in the last month we have very important signals. President Radev and President Vučić launched the construction of the Bulgaria-Serbia gas connection, something very important not only for the diversification process, but also for the stability of our countries, and through us - for the stability of Europe.

The Vice President emphasized that the presence of many representatives of our Council of Ministers at the celebration is a very serious sign that we want to further deepen and develop our bilateral relations: "The presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs Mr. Demerdzhiev is dedicated to something very important and that is the security of our common border, especially in these crisis times in which we live. Because everyone says - this is the external border of the European Union, the security of Europe starts from there, but tonight we say - this is, above all, our common border and the security of the Bulgarian and Serbian citizens." The Vice President also emphasized the important role of our countries in the peace and stability of the Balkans, and hence of Europe.

Afterwards, in the warm and friendly atmosphere that the embassy team created, Bulgarians and Serbs indulged in fun and lively conversations. In addition to the similarity between our temperaments, wonderful Serbian drinks and delicious specialties from the Serbian cuisine helped us to communicate immediately.

An impression was made by the presence of representatives of the tourism sector of Serbia, who were in Bulgaria to participate in the International Tourist Exhibition VACATION & SPA 2023 and who, during their holiday, promoted their products - mainly food and beverages.

Photos: Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in the Republic of Bulgaria

Above: H. E. Dr. Željko Jović, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Bulgaria, and the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Mrs. Iliana Yotova.