Bulgaria will support Ukraine in its European path
07 July 2015 News
"I want to see Ukraine where Bulgaria is: in the European Union," said Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov during his visit to Odessa Province. Minister Mitov held a series of talks with members of the local Bulgarian community in Ukraine, and meetings with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Odessa Province Governor Mikheil Saakashvili.
During his talks with Pavlo Klimkin and Odessa Province Governor Mikheil Saakashvili, Minister Mitov reiterated Bulgaria’s support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence. For his part Mikheil Saakashvili said that Ukraine's path to the EU goes through Bulgaria and the Bulgarians holding Ukrainian citizenship. They also discussed the need for infrastructural changes in Odessa, including with the use of EU funding, and the need for legislative and administrative reforms at national level.
Within the framework of his meetings with the Bulgarian community in Odessa Province, Minister Mitov visited the Georgi Sava Rakovski High School in Bolhrad. He underscored the deep tradition that the school has both in the professional training of students, and the cultivation of true patriots. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs donated 11 computers to the school, equipping a separate school room. "The modernization of teaching and the quality education should promote the dialogue between nations," Daniel Mitov said at the ceremony. He delivered to the school management Bulgarian literature provided by the Ministry of Culture.
Minister Mitov held a meeting with Bulgarians in Odessa Province on Sunday evening, saying that 20,000 leva in humanitarian supplies provided by Bulgarian citizens will arrive in the area shortly.
“Thanks to the efforts of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, the BNT World TV channel has started broadcasting in the cities of Odessa and Izmail. I believe that this will make our fellow Bulgarians better informed and will help invigorate their intellectual and cultural relationship with Bulgaria," Daniel Mitov said. Such broadcasts will also become accessible in other cities, which is crucial for the historical preservation of the local Bulgarian community there. "The broadcasting of Bulgarian TV is an additional way for studying Bulgarian language. Also the Ukrainian citizens with Bulgarian self-consciousness will be able to increase their awareness of the EU and NATO, contributing more actively to the unity of Ukraine and its EU path," added the Bulgarian first diplomat.
After the visit to Odessa Province, Minister Daniel Mitov will join the delegation headed by President Rosen Plevneliev, who will pay a two-day official visit to Ukraine on 7 and 8 July.
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