Agron Nuredinaj has been part of the new municipal administration of the town of Kukës in northern Albania for several months now. The municipal center is also responsible for the villages in the Gora region, where a population of Bulgarian origin and with Bulgarian self-awareness has been living since ancient times. As deputy mayor of the municipality, 43-year-old Agron Nuredinai has the ambition to improve the lives of his fellow citizens of Gora. He himself comes from one of the villages in the region - the village of Oreshkë. He completed his primary education there, his secondary education was in Shishtavec, the largest village in the region, and higher education in Bulgaria, at the "Dimitar Tsenov" Academy of Economics in Svishtov.

"I have 15 years of experience in public administration. I have returned from the capital Tirana to my city as a deputy mayor at the invitation of Albert Halilaj, recently elected mayor of Kukës - a great person with whom we have been working for 15 years. Having completed my education in Bulgaria, I am honored to be able to represent the Gorani in the local government."

Understanding the responsibility of his position, Agron admits that it is unlikely that the new Kukës administration will be able to solve all the problems of the Bulgarians in Gora, but at least he will try to minimize them, as he put it:

"Actually, there are a lot of problems and that's why I will use your media, as a voice or as a window to Bulgaria, to call on the Bulgarian government to help our villages. The biggest problem is the road infrastructure. There is no asphalt in our villages, with the exception of the village of Shishtavec. Bulgaria could also help us in the educational sphere, for example - to improve the conditions in primary schools and raise the qualifications of our teachers. In fact, there is already a similar initiative from the Bulgarian state and quite a few of our people are students in Bulgaria or have already graduated there like me.”

Just a few months after a Radio Bulgaria team visited the town of Kukës and the Bulgarian villages in Gora, the first results of the joint efforts of the Bulgarian state and the local government are already a fact. With the help of the Bulgarian embassy and one of the organizations of the Bulgarians in Albania, the school in the village of Cërnalevë was partially renovated. Children there no longer study in cold rooms because of old broken windows and doors.

What is Bulgaria for Agron Nuredinaj?

"Bulgaria is nostalgia. I have a lot of friends there and I wish them all the best from the bottom of my heart. The student years spent in Svishtov - a small town that some people call 'Cambridge on the Danube' - are golden for me. I am proud that I was there and studied under some from the best lecturers. Bulgarians are very nice people and Bulgaria is like a second mother's home to me. When I go to Bulgaria I always feel good. I also sing Bulgarian songs and play Bulgarian folk dances. When we were students in Bulgaria we had a tradition of getting together after lectures - for a glass of rakia, for songs and dances... And everything was perfect."

"When I introduced my Bulgarian friends to Albania, they all said that Albania is a great country. And it really is. Albania and Bulgaria have always had stable relations - political, economic, social, etc. I wish to thank you, as part of the Bulgarian National Radio, for your interest! You are always welcome! And you should know that we love Bulgaria very much!", the Deputy Mayor of Kukës Municipality says in conclusion.

English publication: Alexander Markov

Photos: Krasimir Martinov