At a ceremony held in the coat of arms hall at 2 Dondukov street President Rosen Plevneliev conferred the Stara Planina First Class Medal on Matthias Hoepfner, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bulgaria (2009 – 2014), and Phillipe Autie, ambassador of the French Republic to Bulgaria (2010-2013). The two ambassadors received the country’s highest honor for their contribution to developing the bilateral relations between their countries and Bulgaria.
These medals are a sign of acknowledgement of the two countries’ important role in strengthening democracy and the civil society in our country, President Plevneliev said. “If something has made me proud in the past two years, this is Bulgaria’s active civil society, which is ready to stand up for its system of values and its understanding of the rule of law, regulations, solidarity and justice and functioning institutions,” the Head of State emphasized in his statement.
The relations between Bulgaria and Germany have been put to the test throughout the years and have proved to be extremely close. Today we are EU and NATO allies and we are united around the idea of building a better world, Rosen Plevneliev pointed out. The President thanked ambassador Hoepfner for the efforts he put in and the personal contribution he has to establishing active economic relations between the two countries. From 2009 to 2013, the bilateral trade between Bulgaria and Germany grew by 64 per cent and in 2013 it exceeded 5.5 billion euro. “Even more impressive is the fact that Bulgaria’s export is equal to the import from Germany, which means that we produce sufficiently competitive goods, which are successfully placed on the market,” the Head of State said.
Rosen Plevneliv emphasized that Bulgaria will continue to encourage its cooperation with France not only on a bilateral basis, but also within the EU and NATO. “Ambassador Autie’s contribution is indisputable. Despite the severe economic crisis, France became an important partner of Bulgaria in the period 2010-2013 and the bilateral trade grew by 55 percent and reached 1.7 billion euro in 2013,” the President said.
The two diplomats thanked the President for the high state medals they received and emphasized that they share a common sympathy for Bulgaria and respect for the country’s worthy place in the European Union.