Vice President Iotova will open the school year at the oldest Bulgarian school abroad in Star Bisnov, Romania

On Monday, September 8, Bulgaria's Vice President Iliana Iotova will visit Stár Bišnov (Dudeştii Vechi), Romania, at the invitation of the Union of Banat Bulgarians, the mayor of the Stár Bišnov municipality, and the Theoretical Lyceum "St. Cyril and Methodius". Iotova will open the school year at the oldest school established by Bulgarians abroad, which this year celebrates its 280th anniversary.

Later, the Vice President will be a guest at the ceremonial session of the Star Beshenov Municipal Council, will hold a meeting with representatives of the Union of Banat Bulgarians in Romania, and will visit the Museum of the Bulgarian Minority.

The Banat Bulgarians are Catholics. They are the oldest Bulgarian diaspora in Romania. The first Bulgarians settled there nearly three centuries ago, after the suppression of the Chiprovtsi Uprising. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, some of them returned to their homeland. The Bulgarian national minority is officially recognized in Romania and has its own deputy in the parliament.