As part of his visit to the Rhodope region of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ambassador Jović visited the Smolyane District today and met with the Mayor of the Smolyane Municipality, Mr. Nikolay Melemov.

During the meeting, Melemov introduced the ambassador to the city's history, demographic structure and potential for further development. The municipality of Smolyan, which is located about 50 km from the Greek border, is primarily the administrative centre of the District, and its development policy is primarily based on the tourist potential. One of the three most famous ski centres in the Republic of Bulgaria, Pamporovo, partly belongs to this municipality, and in addition to skiing, tourists also visit this area because of the specific climate, exceptional natural beauty and varied and healthy food.

By the way, in addition to wood, as the basic raw material that enables this municipality to collect significant financial resources, an important part of the economy is also represented by the automobile industry (production of parts for the world's most famous brands). Although it is a municipality that borders Greece, there is a strong determination of its leadership to establish a more specific cooperation with one of the Serbian municipalities, which is similar in structure and development plans.