At a solemn ceremony in the coat-of-arms hall at 2 Dondukov street, Head of State Rosen Plevneliev awarded the ambassadors of Romania and the Republic of Greece in Bulgaria, Anton Pacuretu and Dimosthenis Stoidis, the Stara Planina order first class. The highest state orders were awarded for the contributions of the two diplomats to developing and strengthening the bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the countries they represent.
Raising the partnership between Bulgaria and Romania to a qualitatively new level by establishing a top-level cooperation council is the most eloquent testimony for ambassador Pacuretu’s significant role in maintaining a special dynamics of the relations between the two countries, the Head of State said in the statement he made. Rosen Plevneliev also highlighted ambassador Pacuretu’s contribution to enhancing the connectivity, of the trade and cultural ties between the Bulgarian and Romanian people.
“I am convinced that we will realize the whole potential of the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Romania on the basis of the principles of good-neighborliness, shared European and Euro-Atlantic values and mutual interest. Currently we are together writing the history of friendship and success,” for which ambassador Pacuretu has a decisive contribution, President Rosen Plevneliev further highlighted.
President Rosen Plevneliev said that Greek ambassador Dimosthenis Stoidis’s contribution lies in the comprehensive development of the relations between Bulgaria and Greece, as well as in enhancing the bilateral dialogue on important regional issues, including the European integration of the Western Balkan countries.
“As NATO and EU member states, Bulgaria and Greece share a common responsibility to Southeastern Europe to make it a region of prosperity, well-being, development and an open dialogue,” President Plevneliev highlighted.
The Head of State thanked ambassador Stoidis for his personal contribution to building up the cooperation in different sectors between Bulgaria and Greece including the energy sector, fighting illegal migration and the development of trade cooperation. Within the ambassador’s term in office, a lot of top-level visits were made not only in Bulgaria, but also in Greece, including the official visit of Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos in Bulgaria in December 2015. “The collapse of the artificially erected ideological and political walls gave our peoples the opportunity to come to know the nature and culture of each other,” President Plevneliev further said.
The two ambassadors thanked the Bulgarian Head of State for awarding them the highest state orders and emphasized that they will continue working to develop the good-neighborly and friendly relations between Bulgaria and Romania and Bulgaria and the Republic of Greece in the future.
“When I came to Bulgaria seven years ago, I remember a meeting I had with a Bulgarian minister, who placed a map of Bulgaria and Romania on the table and showed me how many roads in Bulgaria lead to the Danube river and how many roads in Romania lead to the Danube river. However, there is no infrastructure to connect them. Mr. President, I hope you also remember this moment, because it was then that I realized what the direction of serving my term in office in Sofia was,” ambassador Pacuretu said. He emphasized that the connectivity in all sectors is the key to developing the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Romania today.
Ambassador Dimosthenis Stoidis highlighted that the excellent relations between Bulgaria and Greece lie at the basis of the results achieved in the energy, infrastructure, mutual investments, cross-border cooperation and tourism sectors. He added that the local communities in the two countries have managed to strengthen the ties by organizing different cultural and sports events, which unites the Bulgarian and Greek people as friends and strong allies.