site.btaPresident Radev Welcomes Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Bulgaria at Traditional Annual Reception

"It is a pleasure for me to welcome you to the traditional annual reception of the heads of diplomatic missions in Bulgaria," President Rumen Radev told the attending ambassadors at the National History Museum here on Thursday. The event was attended by Vice President Iliana Iotova, National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova, deputy prime ministers, MPs and ministers.

Radev extended his wishes to the ambassadors for health, personal and professional success and expressed his gratitude for their efforts to develop and strengthen cooperation with the Bulgarian side.

The Bulgarian head of State expressed his gratitude to all of this country's foreign partners, who extended their hand to help free the crew of the hijacked Galaxy Leader, including the two Bulgarian sailors taken hostage in November 2023. Radev expressed his personal gratitude to all those with whom he and the Bulgarian institutions worked actively to find a solution to this extremely complicated case.

Radev expressed special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, the King of Jordan, the Presidents of Egypt, the United States, the UAE, Palestine, Iran, and Israel, with whom he met personally and discussed the issue.    

Rumen Radev thanked for the assistance for the release of Bulgarian national Daniela Gilboa from Hamas' captivity and expressed hope that all the other hostages will be released, including the other Bulgarian national, Matan Angrest, whose parents he had conferred with several times. The President took the opportunity to thank the Foreign Ministry, Bulgarian diplomats and institutions that have joined forces on this case, driven by the conviction that a country unable to protect its citizens has no future.

He described Bulgaria's accession to Schengen with Romania at the beginning of the year as an undisputed success. "This will contribute to substantial diplomatic benefits not only for the citizens and businesses of our two countries, but also for the entire EU, by strengthening the efficiency and competitiveness of the Single Market," Radev said.

NATO and the reliable trans-Atlantic link remain the main guarantor of European security, the Bulgarian head of State noted and recalled that in 2024 Bulgaria marked the 20th anniversary its accession to the Alliance.

He expressed hope that the growing efforts and increased ambitions to end and prevent bloodshed around the world, to enhance cooperation and have a more active diplomacy, to achieve peace, understanding and economic and social progress, will mark a better 2025.