site.btaBulgaria Holds First National Day Reception in Northern Montenegro

A reception was held in the northern Montenegrin town of Bijelo Polje to mark Bulgaria’s national holiday, March 3. In a statement, Bulgarian Ambassador to Montenegro Stefan Dimitrov underlined the fact that this is the first such event in Montenegro held outside the capital Podgorica.

Dimitrov said he is “firmly convinced that at events like this, it is time to move beyond Podgorica, and not always necessarily go south.” According to the Bulgarian diplomat, “the northern part of Montenegro has much to offer in every respect, and we [Bulgaria] must provide our support.”

“I wanted to bring together in one place the mayors and municipal council chairpersons of the twinned municipalities between our two countries – a total of eight. And, I think, I almost succeeded – seven of them are here,” Dimitrov said at the reception, which took place at the Vojislav Bulatovic Strunjo Cultural Centre in Bijelo Polje.

Dimitrov welcomed representatives of the twinned municipalities – Podgorica and Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo and Cetinje, Svishtov and Bijelo Polje, Lovech and Kolašin, Pernik and Rožaje, Bansko and Mojkovac, Troyan and Danilovgrad.

He emphasised that freedom is a universal value, a right, but also a duty. “As a wise person once said, freedom is a verb. It is not a given, it is not achieved once and for all, and it requires all of us to value and protect it constantly,” the diplomat stressed.

Dimitrov thanked citizens from Serbia and Montenegro who, 22 years ago, came to help during the Lim River bus tragedy, in which 12 Bulgarian children drowned in the border river between the two Western Balkan countries.

“Between our two countries, there are no – and never have been – unresolved or open issues. At the same time, the traditionally good cooperation preserved over the years, along with Montenegro’s steady progress in European and Euro-Atlantic integration, provides opportunities to expand bilateral contacts in many new areas,” Ambassador Dimitrov said, reviewing the work of the Embassy he has led over the past three years.

He announced that, as NATO partners, Bulgaria and Montenegro will jointly work to strengthen regional security and combine energy security with climate protection, while also deepening and expanding bilateral cooperation.

According to the Bulgarian diplomat, Montenegro is a leader in the EU accession process and “is already an example in the region of how a country, small in territory but with a European vision for its future, confidently pursues its goal based on shared European values.” He expressed Bulgaria’s readiness to share both positive and negative experiences with Montenegro during its EU integration.

“On today’s Bulgarian holiday, I want to share with you my deep conviction that relations, especially between neighbouring countries with a shared historical past – particularly in the Balkans – must be built responsibly for the present and with a view to the future, regardless of the burden of the past. One example of this is the relationship between Bulgaria and Turkey,” Dimitrov stressed in his speech at the reception.