Bulgarian Posts are directly related to the Bulgarian state, said National Assembly President Mihail Mikov in Vidin, opening the International Philatelic Exhibition "Balkanfila 2014". The exhibition is organized under the patronage of the President of the Bulgarian Parliament and is part of the events marking 135 years modern Bulgarian state.

Immediately after the Constituent Assembly and the election of Prince, the Bulgarian Posts were established in the new Bulgarian state, noted Mikov. He went on to say that today, when computer and Internet are replacing the traditional types of communication, some tend to believe that there is no need for postal stamps. They however contain much more information - about people’s life before us, the history, the culture and the relationships between nations, said the Speaker of the parliament. He thanked the Union of Bulgarian Philatelists for their effort to rekindle in the young generation the spark of interest of aesthetics, culture and history.

Postal stamps connect people, make them friends and spread a lot of knowledge, said the President of the Union of Bulgarian Philatelists Spas Panchev. He added that meetings like this help develop friendship and cultural ties between the nations in the region.

For three days the citizens and guests of Vidin will have the opportunity to see some of the best collections of philatelists from the Balkan countries and Russia. The participating philatelists present their strongest collections as the event is of competitive nature, noted Spas Panchev.

Philatelists from 11 Balkan countries are taking part in the exhibition along with guest collectors from Russia. They are presented in 250 boards divided into five competition categories - "Postal History", " Traditional Philately", " Maksimafilia", "Youth Category" and "1 Board". This year, the competition involves young philatelists of the Balkan states that have never had this opportunity so far.

Mihail Mikov and Georgi Todorov, Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications validated a postcard featuring the new bridge over the Danube "New Europe". Author of the new postcard is Nenko Atanasov; it is validated with a circulation of 892 copies. Also validated at the opening ceremony of "Balkanfila 2014" was a special edition of "Balkanfila" - "Cultural Anniversaries". It represents a series of four stamps depicting four celebrities connected with the history of art and culture - Shakespeare, Taras Shevchenko, Lermontov and Richard Strauss.

The guests can also purchase a stamp entitled "135 Years Bulgarian Parliamentarian", which was validated at the National Assembly on April 3, 2014 by President Mikov and Minister of Transport and Communications Daniel Papazov.