NEWS

The head of state to his compatriots in New York: In my view Bulgaria will have succeeded when you tell your children to come back, to study and work in their country

The presidential institution has the ambition to launch the creation of a register of the Bulgarian national and the Bulgarian communities abroad, so as to ensure their contacts with the industrial and educational institutions and businesses in Bulgaria. This is what President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian community in New York. In the head of state's words, this register should facilitate the communication with our compatriots abroad so that their professional expertise and experience can be utilized in Bulgaria.

"In a globalized world no country can exist on its own – finance, investments, technologies, research and cultural exchange are all connected. And when you are successful, this is a success for Bulgaria as well", the president emphasized and expressed his gratitude to the Bulgarians that promote their country in the international institutions and companies they work for.  

Taking a question, the president said: "In my view Bulgaria will have succeeded when you tell your children to come back, to study and work in their country". Rumen Radev went on to say that more needs to be done to improve public confidence in the Bulgarian institutions, and to foster a sense of justice in society as well as a feeling that the corruption schemes in the award of public contracts have been done away with.

Taking a question as to the progress of the judicial reform in Bulgaria and the option to introduce Romania's anti-corruption model, the head of state said that Bulgaria's problems should be resolved by the Bulgarians themselves. "If someone from abroad comes over to resolve our problems, this suggests that we have neither the self-esteem, nor the courage and conviction that as a nation we could build our own future. It is my belief that the reform in the judiciary is a top priority and this is why for the first time the presidential institution will hold a meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security to address this issue", Rumen Radev said.

This is what the president noted with regard to the debate on the way to set up an anti-corruption authority:  "It seems as if in Bulgaria we want to have literature without Dostoevsky. Can we possibly imagine Dostoevsky without Crime and Punishment? It is high time that we start punishing the wrongdoers and that an independent anti-corruption authority is set up to bring discipline to the political class", the head of state further said.

In the last decades, our relations with the United States have been transformed in a strategic partnership, and the Bulgarian community has contributed to this success, Rumen Radev argued. He went on to say that he had raised the issue of the removal of the visa regime for the Bulgarian national at every meeting he has had with representatives of the US government institutions.

The president thanked his compatriots in New York for maintaining their connections with their country, for preserving their national identity and sense of belonging to a community, for the training in the Bulgarian language provided at school during the weekend, which provide for the children's preservation of their mother tongue. "Bulgaria is everywhere where people speak and dream in the Bulgarian language", Rumen Radev said. The head of state called on the Foreign Ministry to stand for the creation of a cultural center that will promote Bulgarian culture, traditions and folklore in New York. "We will all work to this end", Rumen Radev said.

During the meeting a number of questions were put forth pertaining to the prospects for tackling the demographic crisis in Bulgaria, the dual citizenship and the National strategy for the Bulgarians and the Bulgarian communities living abroad, among many other issues. Other participants in the meeting held at the General Consulate in New York were Petar Stoyanov, former president (1997-2002) and Ekaterina Zaharieva, deputy prime minister for judicial reform and foreign minister. More than 200 compatriots attended the meeting.

Earlier on, President Rumen Radev visited the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church in New York.