News - Poland, Warsaw, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

On March 11, 2025, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Warsaw, together with the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, organized a concert on the occasion of the National Day and the 147th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria, which was attended by about 150 guests, including representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sejm and the Senate of Poland, local authorities and the diplomatic corps in Warsaw.

A special guest was the Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland - Ms. Henryk Mościnska-Dędys, as well as Mr. Krasimir Valchev, Minister of Education of the Republic of Bulgaria; Ms. Irena Georgieva, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Ms. Elena Baltadzhieva - Mayor of the Municipality of Kavarna.

Among those present were Mr. Robert Mamontov, Senator and Chairman of the Friendship Group with Bulgaria in the Polish Parliament, the Rectors of the Universities of Warsaw and Poznań - Prof. Aloysius Nowak, and Prof. Bogumila Kanevska, the Honorary Consuls of the Republic of Bulgaria in – Wiesław Nowak (Krakow), Jan Stravinsky (Gdansk), Witold Karczewski (Bialystok), Mr. Hyung Juan Park, Regional Director of Hyundai. Traditionally, in connection with the Bulgarian spring custom, students from the Bulgarian Sunday School “D. Gabe” decorated the guests with martenitsa.

After the national anthems of the two countries and the European anthem were played, in her address to the guests, the Bulgarian Ambassador Margarita Ganeva emphasized the historical significance of the date March 3 in the recent history of Bulgaria. A tribute was paid to the memory of both the Bulgarian and the liberation warriors who participated in the Liberation War of 1877-78, with an emphasis on those of Polish nationality: "There are numerous warriors and individuals of other nationalities who fought shoulder to shoulder with us for the liberation of our Fatherland. Official Polish sources indicate that about 50,000 Poles fought in the liberation war for Bulgaria (1877-1878), included in the ranks of the then Tsarist army, with about a thousand of them serving in the officer corps. Bulgaria honors the sacrifice of all of them as its heroes."

The Ambassador highlighted the upward development of bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Poland, based on common values and membership in NATO and the EU, regional cooperation and the priorities of the Polish Presidency of the EU. Ambassador Ganeva also emphasized the cooperation in the field of science and innovation and the particularity of the record growth in trade between the two countries and the level of Polish tourists visiting Bulgaria last year. "According to Polish statistics, trade between Poland and Bulgaria in 2024 reached almost 5 billion euros (for comparison, in 2021 it was 2.3 billion), and Bulgarian exports to Poland exceeded 2.7 billion euros (for comparison, in 2021 it was 1.5 billion euros)... in 2024 - according to preliminary data from the Bulgarian NSI, 478 thousand Polish citizens visited our country, of which more than two thirds for tourism purposes. Poland's connectivity with Bulgaria is realized through more and more Polish airports (already 13)."

The Ambassador also touched upon the 105th anniversary of the opening of the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Warsaw and the activities of its first head Georgi Madzharov.

On the Polish side, a greeting was delivered by the Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Ms. Henryka Mościcka-Dendys, who emphasized the excellent bilateral relations. She shared the words of the Bulgarian Ambassador about the sacrifice of Poles in the Bulgarian War of Independence, emphasizing that both countries well understand the meaning of the word "Freedom". She emphasized that today, along with Russia's unprecedented attack on Ukraine, the fight for freedom, for solidarity is becoming extremely important not only for one country, but also for the entire European Community. Ms. Mościcka-Dendys emphasized the importance of cooperation under the eastern flag of NATO in the B9 format and the importance for security in the region. He welcomed Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, adding that he hopes and is glad that this will contribute to the increase in the popularity of Poland for Bulgarian tourists.

After the official part, the guests enjoyed a concert performed by Nedyalko Nedyalkov (kaval), Petar Milanov (guitar), Stoyan Yankulov - Stundzhi (drums) and Arnau Garrofe (saxophone). The ethnojazz quartet presented the GloBalKan musical project, in which original pieces are skillfully combined with authentic Bulgarian, Balkan and world folklore, which performed a rich palette of ethno-jazz performances. In addition to the official guests, the quartet's performances delighted many of our Polish friends and representatives of the Bulgarian community in Warsaw, as well as representatives of our kind hosts from the concert hall of the Frederic Chopin University of Music.