On October 19, within the framework of his state visit to Bulgaria, the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan left Sofia for the city of Plovdiv, which has a big Armenian population, and had a meeting with the Mayor of Plovdiv Zdravko Dimitrov.
During the meeting at Plovdiv municipality, Zdravko Dimitrov noted that they had been waiting for the visit of the President of Armenia with joy and enthusiasm. “There is a quite big Armenian community in Plovdiv, and we are very proud of it. The only Armenian school in Bulgaria that has been operating since 1834 is also located here. We also have an Armenian church in our city”, said Zdravko Dimitrov and briefly presented the development plans of the city and the opportunities for cooperation.
President Khachaturyan thanked the Mayor for the warm reception and expressed his appreciation for the benevolent attitude of Bulgaria towards our compatriots. According to the President, there are good conditions for the representatives of the Armenian community, and therefore, with their activities, Armenians have tried to immensely contribute to the development and progress of Bulgaria and Plovdiv in particular.
During the meeting, Zdravko Dimitrov particularly mentioned the Armenian Mayors of Plovdiv, one of which was Diran Parikyan (1971-1979), who had his significant contribution in shaping the modern appearance of the city. In 1991-1995, Plovdiv had another Armenian Mayor, Garabed Tomasyan, who was an honoured doctor and public figure, and during his tenure he introduced numerous modern governance models.
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During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed matters related to the deepening of cooperation in a number of other directions.
Within the framework of his visit to Plovdiv, President Khachaturyan also visited the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis, the Victoria and Krikor Tutunjian School, the Armenian Apostolic Church “Surp Kevork” in Plovdiv and the House-Museum of the Bulgarian-Armenian merchant Stephan Hindliyan.
