Ambassador Miroslav Toman presented his credentials to the Bulgarian President
15.02.2024 / 12:00 | Aktualizováno: 20.02.2024 / 13:34
On Thursday, 15 February 2024, Ambassador Miroslav Toman presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. With this act, he was officially accredited as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria and his mission in the country was officially launched. After his introductory meeting with the President, the Ambassador then laid a bouquet of flowers at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Sofia.
The presentation of the credentials was preceded by an official ceremony with a parade of the honor guard of the Presidential Palace and the national anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria. Afterwards, the Ambassador, accompanied by his wife, deputy and consul, met President Radev, to whom he presented the credentials and the revocation decree of his predecessor.
Following the presentation of the credentials, the Ambassador held an introductory meeting with the President, which was also attended by the Secretary of the Head of State for Foreign Policy, R. Ivanov, and the Deputy Foreign Minister, E. Shekerletova. The Ambassador conveyed the greetings of the Czech President P. Pavel and mentioned the traditionally good state of bilateral relations, which he would like to further develop, strengthen and give more dynamism to during his stay in Bulgaria. The forthcoming visits of President P. Pavel and Foreign Minister J. Lipavsky to Sofia should significantly help in this respect. M. Toman also underlined the importance of trade and economic cooperation, which reached its peak again last year, and mentioned the strong position of Czech investors in the country, which the Czech Republic would like to maintain and preferably strengthen. Among his priorities, the new ambassador wants to focus on greater participation of Czech exporters in strengthening defence and security structures in Bulgaria. In this context, he informed the President about the upcoming Czech exposition at the HEMUS defence technology fair in Plovdiv in June this year, where Aero Vodochody will exhibit the new L-39 NG aircraft offered to the Bulgarian Air Force. Last but not least, M. Toman informed the President about the growing interest of Czech tourists in Bulgaria. Their numbers have already exceeded the level before the COVID-19 pandemic and are growing year by year. The Embassy is responding to this by regularly setting up a consular representation in Burgas in the summer, and Czech police officers are also coming to Bulgaria for the high season, reinforcing and cooperating with local patrols in the most visited areas.
President Radev highly appreciated the bilateral relations between the two countries, referring to the tradition since the establishment of an independent Bulgaria, when the Czechs have significantly helped in the development of the country in the fields of education, architecture, infrastructure and industry, which can be seen in many places to this day. Czechia has the best credit in Bulgaria. In the field of bilateral relations, the reciprocal visit of President Pavel to Sofia will be of the greatest importance, as it would certainly bring further impetus to mutual cooperation and the development of relations. "We will work on this together and I believe that we will succeed in doing so soon," said the Bulgarian President, who also highly appreciated the inflow of Czech investments into the country and welcomed the Czechia's efforts to be even more active in this field. He expressed active interest in the demonstration of the L-39 NG aircraft at the fair and, given his previous career as a fighter pilot, when he also flew the L-39, he promised to participate and visit the Czech stand. In conclusion, R. Radev wished the Ambassador success in his important position and expressed his conviction that close cooperation will lead to further development of Czech-Bulgarian relations.