On 15th January, 2011 it is one year since the opening of the border checkpoint Zlatograd, connecting the town of Zlatograd and Xanthi. The celebration of the anniversary began with a blessing ceremony, served at the chapel "St. Apostles Constantine and Helena "by Father John. Thousands of travelers and tourists who have crossed the border this year are a good proof of the strategic importance of the border checkpoint in Zlatograd for the economic development of the region, which was appreciated by the central authorities and the governments of Bulgaria and Greece too. Over 130 000 vehicles and over 400 000 passengers have crossed the border at Zlatograd border checkpoint for 10 months /since its opening/. For this period of time no serious car accidents have been registered.
The representative of the Periphery of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, region of Xanthi - Mr. Fotis Karalidis, along with some of his councillors, and the Mayor of Miki Municipality – Mr Mustafa Dzhukal were special guests of this event
The anniversary was honored by the deputy governor of Smolyan - Mr. Nedyalko Slavov and many Bulgarians from Zlatograd and Greeks.Later that day, the Mayor of Zlatograd attended a conference answering journalists’ questions, focusing on how Zlatograd Municipality changes after opening of the border checkpoint. Immediately with the opening of the border checkpoint the tourism in the region starts developing rapidly and the revival of trade and public utilities and services increase on both sides of the border. This point of view was also shared by Mr. Karalidis, who said that many Bulgarians visited the Mediterranean Sea in 2010.