Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova visits Yerevan’s Peyo Yavorov School, praises cultural ties
Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova visited Yerevan’s No. 131 school named after poet Peyo Yavorov on Sunday, using the stop during her trip for the 8th European Political Community Summit to underscore the depth of Armenian‑Bulgarian cultural ties. Iotova arrived with a delegation that included Bulgarian News Agency Director General Kiril Valchev, accompanied by Armenpress News Agency Director Narine Nazaryan.
The two agencies have cooperated since 2004 and renewed their partnership in 2022 with a new agreement in Sofia. Students greeted the visitors with Bulgarian songs and dances, performing the patriotic song Moya Bulgaria (My Bulgaria) and a traditional folk dance.
Mariam Voskanian, the school’s deputy director for extracurricular and after‑school activities, described a centuries‑old friendship between Armenians and Bulgarians, noting that Yavorov’s poem The Armenians reflected the tragic history of the Armenian people during the Hamidian massacres.
She said the school, named for Yavorov in 1966, honors that link through its Armenian‑Bulgarian Friendship Museum and by presenting Bulgarian language, song and dance to visiting delegations. Voskanian expressed gratitude for the Bulgarian government’s attention and support and highlighted warm ties with the Bulgarian Embassy in Armenia.
Iotova said she was deeply moved by the statue of Yavorov near the school and called it inspiring that the poet expressed support for the Armenian people through works such as The Armenians. “I do not know another poet who has written about Armenia with such warmth and who has presented the history of Armenia in such an emotional way,” she said.
Emphasizing the importance of developing friendly relations, she pointed out that five Armenian schools currently operate in Bulgaria and said a sixth will soon open. According to her, pupils in those schools learn Armenian art and culture and know Armenian song and dance as well as Armenian children know Bulgarian culture.
She invited teachers and students to visit Yavorov’s birthplace, the city of Chirpan, to jointly present Armenian and Bulgarian culture. During the visit, Iotova, Bulgaria’s ambassador to Armenia Nikola Nikolov and other guests toured the school’s Armath engineering laboratory.
The lab, founded in 2023 by the Bulgarian Embassy and the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises, serves students who have won competitions in Singapore and other countries, including the Koreez program. The school also reopened an interactive classroom in 2018 with the support of then‑President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, who attended the opening, and its gym was renovated with assistance from the Bulgarian government.
Set against the summit backdrop, the visit spotlighted how cultural and educational projects continue to anchor relations, with further exchanges anticipated, including the Chirpan invitation and the planned opening of another Armenian school in Bulgaria, as stated by Iotova.