Bulgarian church to add Georgia to pilgrimage destination list, promoting religious tourism
Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze met with te Bulgarian patriarch during his official visit to Bulgaria. Photo: Parlaiment’s press office.
Tweet 
Share
The Bulgarian church will add Georgia to a list of pilgrimage destinations, including countries the local church advises its parish to visit, the Georgian parliament reports.
The step will encourage religious tourism in Georgia and increase interest in Georgian holy sites,” the parliament’s press office stated after the meeting of Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze with Bulgarian Patriarch Neofit yesterday.
Kobakhidze and Patriarch Neofit said that the two countries have had friendly relations for centuries and the ties should be strengthened further.
Patriarch Neofit praised Georgian Patriarch Ilia II and described him as one of the most distinguished figures in the Orthodox world, the press office says.
A Georgian consulate has opened in the city of Blagoevgrad, in southwestern Bulgaria.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced a large-scale digital project that includes the installation of a new optic cable in the Black Sea basin after a meeting held earlier today.
Georgia and Bulgaria are deepening bilateral cooperation across a range of industries including trade and investment, transport, energy, environmental protection, agriculture, tourism and intellectual rights protection.
Bulgaria has simplified visa issuing procedures for citizens of Georgia and five other countries. The decision was made by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova.