The Bulgarian ambassador in Tirana, Ivajlo Kirov, expressed satisfaction with the census results, according to which 7,057 people of Bulgarian nationality live in Albania, “Ora News” reported.

Ambassador Ivajlo Kirov, during a visit to the northern Albanian city of Kuks, where he participated in an activity for free health examinations of the residents of this city by Bulgarian doctors, expressed his “gratitude for the work done, but also for respecting the rights of the minority”.

Kirov added that “with this process, harmonious conditions have been created for residents of Bulgarian origin to freely express their ethnicity”.

For the results of the census, I want to thank the Albanian government that created harmonious conditions for the implementation of this process where people were free to decide for themselves. If the Albanian government had not created these conditions for the inhabitants of the Bulgarian community to freely express their determination, we would not have the numbers we have today. There are also residents of the Bulgarian minority here, and we emphasize that the Bulgarian minority feels at home here. We are honestly very surprised by the results. Albania is the friendliest and most hospitable country for Bulgaria and the Balkans, Kirov said.

He assessed that “this is one of the reasons why the Albanian state is negotiating with the EU”.

It is very important for the Albanian state to show the number of the population, the number of apartments because based on this data will be the distribution of the Albanian representatives in the EU and the income that Albania can absorb from the EU funds. I must emphasize that the census in Albania is monitored by representatives of the EU and other interested countries, the Bulgarian diplomat pointed out.