Bulgaria’s Head of State, President Rumen Radev, awarded Stara Planina Order, 1st Degree, to China’s ambassador to Bulgaria, H.E. Mr. Zhang Haizhou, reports BNT.

At a special ceremony in the Coat of Arms Hall in the Presidency on 20th of December, the President awarded the ambassador of China for his exceptional contribution to the development of the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"This order is an expression of the great importance we attach to bilateral ties and cooperation with the People's Republic of China because our relations have always been based on friendship and trust between the two nations," said President Rumen Radev in his address.

He highlighted the efforts of Ambassador Zhang Haizhou during his tenure for "the exceptionally intensive and effective relations between our two countries." During the year, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, Li Kuzyan, visited our country. Bulgaria hosted the Seventh Summit of the 16 + 1 Group for Cooperation between China and the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Rumen Radev pointed out.

The Head of State has expressed special thanks to Ambassador Zhang Heizhou for his invaluable help in organising an unprecedented rescue operation on the search for Bulgarian mountaineer Boyan Petrov earlier this year.

“I accept this award as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between Bulgaria and China,” Ambassador Zhang Haizhou said, and thanked for the honour of being awarded the highest state order.

"My tenure of two and a half years was not that long, but during that time I was able to feel the good attitude of Bulgarians towards the Chinese people, which is a solid basis for our further bilateral relations," the ambassador said.