At a solemn ceremony at 2 Dondukov street President Rosen Plevneliev awarded the order of the Madar Horseman First Class to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Bulgaria Helena Pilsas Ahlin. The diplomat received the high state order for her contribution to strengthening and developing the relations between Bulgaria and Sweden.

“The order is a recognition of Ambassador Helena Ahlin’s contribution to the development of the bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Sweden,” the Head of State said in his address. The President highlighted that during Ambassador Ahlin’s term in office the trade relations between Bulgaria and Sweden developed successfully. In 2014 the bilateral trade grew by 14 percent compared to 2013 and reached 300 million euros. Sweden’s direct investments in Bulgaria for the 1996-2014 period are worth 200 million euros.

“Undoubtedly the Bulgarian-Scandinavian Chamber of Commerce, which has more than 70 member-companies, contributes to this positive trend. The Scandinavian markets are priority markets for Bulgaria and Sweden is the only door to them,” Rosen Plevneliev further said. The President highlighted the sustainable growth of the tourist exchange in the past years, pointing out that 10,000 Bulgarians have visited the Scandinavian country.

“Thanks to its active role in overcoming the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq, Sweden knows well the challenges the East European countries are facing,” President Plevneliev further said. In the past year Sweden has accepted more than 40,000 refugees. “The necessity for solidarity and sharing the responsibilities is more pressing than ever. We highly appreciate the readiness for cooperation on issues such as migration and the fair distribution of burden caused by the unprecedented migration pressure along the external EU borders,” Rosen Plevneliev further emphasized.

In his speech the Head of State voiced gratitude also for the Kingdom of Sweden’s consistent support for the Republic of Bulgaria’s Schengen accession.

Helena Pilsas Ahlin, for her part, thanked the Bulgarian President for “his openness to the diplomatic community.” “This is a great capital for our cooperation,” Ambassador Ahlin said and voiced her conviction that the relations between Bulgaria and Sweden will continue to expand and deepen in the future.