Officials from Bulgaria, Greece and the European Commission will symbolically cross the border at Rudozem–Xanthi on 23 October, Smolyan regional governor Georgi Pepelanov told BTA. The event is about transport links between the two countries.

At the new border checkpoint, they will present the CrossBo 1 and CrossBo 2 projects for roads in the border region. Both projects run under the INTERREG Greece-Bulgaria programme, for 2014-2020 and 2021-2027.

Pepelanov will welcome the guests as the state's representative and host of the new checkpoint. Also taking part are Christos Topsidis, governor of Greece's East Macedonia and Thrace region, Maria Nezeriti, head of the INTERREG Managing Authority for 2021-2027, and Nathalie Verschelde of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.

For CrossBo 1, they will show the results of building the border checkpoint road and the access road. Smolyan Regional Administration, a partner in the project, completed the work fully on time. The Greek company Egnatia Odos and the Road Infrastructure Agency will present the work on both projects.

An international discussion is planned on why transport links and mobility matter in the border area. Guests will also pay tribute to Georgios Pavlidis and Georgi Chilingirov for their part in building the link between Rudozem and Xanthi, and their daughters will take part in the ceremony.

The programme also includes a visit to the Rudozem ring road, which was funded under CrossBo 2.