Ensuring peace and security in the Balkans, strengthening bilateral relations and the rights of the Bulgarian community in Kosovo were among the main topics of the talks in Sofia between Vice President Iliana Iotova and the new Kosovo Ambassador, H.E. Haxhi Bajraktari. Exactly one year ago the Vice President visited Kosovo at the invitation of President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the country's independence.
Iotova and Bajraktari highlighted the top-level political contacts between the two countries, also underlining the visit to Pristina of President Rumen Radev in late December last year. They agreed that greater activity is needed to implement bilateral cooperation in various fields. The Kosovo Ambassador thanked the Bulgarian state for its consistent position in support of peace in the Balkan country and its international and European integration. Iliana Iotova recalled that in 2018 Bulgaria put the European future of the Western Balkan countries at the focus of its presidency of the Council of the European Union. If there is no stability and peace in the Balkans, there is no stability and peace for the whole of Europe, the Vice President stressed.
The focus of the meeting was the rights of the Bulgarian community in Kosovo and the concrete steps for its recognition, as well as its inclusion in the Consultative Council for Communities to the Kosovo President. Haxhi Bajraktari assured Iliana Iotova that the authorities in the country would take all necessary measures to prevent pressure on the self-determination of Kosovo citizens with Bulgarian identity in the upcoming census. The Vice President underlined her conviction that different ethnic communities are the wealth of a state and a nation. The Kosovo Ambassador described the Bulgarian community as a natural bridge between the two countries, which contributes to strengthening bilateral relations.
Iliana Iotova proposed the organisation of a Balkan festival in Sofia, which would present the culture of the Balkan peoples, with an emphasis on the Bulgarian communities living in the Balkans.