site.btaPresident Radev Says Sofia Will Keep Strengthening Ties with Bulgarian Community in Kosovo

President Rumen Radev Thursday said Bulgaria sets great store by the invigoration of contacts with the Bulgarian community in the Republic of Kosovo. He met with representatives of the Association for Development and Integration of the Bulgarian Community in the Republic of Kosovo, Radev's Press Secretariat said.

Radev stressed Bulgaria's resolve to continue expanding the economic, educational and cultural exchanges with Kosovo, which will also have a positive effect on the Bulgarian community there. In 2023, 40 Bulgarians from Kosovo graduated from higher education establishments in Bulgaria, the President stressed. He emphasized that Bulgarians from Kosovo should be further encouraged to get their education in Bulgarian universities.

The representatives of the Bulgarian community raised several issues: a possible increase in Bulgarian investments in Kosovo, including in the areas inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians; learning the Bulgarian language; and facilitating access to Bulgarian citizenship. In their view, there are excellent opportunities for the development of tourism and agriculture in Kosovo, which can be tapped by Bulgarian business representatives.

Other topics on the agenda were the population census currently underway in Kosovo and the challenges facing the small and hard-to-access settlements where Bulgarians predominantly live in that country.