At an official ceremony held on January 29^th, 2020 at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in The Hague, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the country Mr. Rumen Alexandrov presented awards to six distinguished Dutch citizens for their long-standing contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The event was organized in the framework of the 110^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of the Netherlands celebrated in 2019, as well as the forthcoming 20^th anniversary since the establishment of the successful twinning partnership between the Bulgarian sea capital Varna and the dutch city of Dordrecht.

The special guest of the event was the King’s Commissioner for the Dutch province of Friesland, Drs. Arnoud Adrianus Maria "Arno" Brok, who also served as a Mayor of Dordrecht in the period from 2011 to 2017. Thanks to his continuous support, the twinning partnership between Varna and Dordrecht has been significantly developed over the years and in various areas of mutual interest - economic and cultural ties, implementation of social and charitable projects, promotion of people-to-people contacts and tourism.

On behalf of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ambassador Alexandrov awarded Commissioner Brok with the high state honor - the Order of the Madara Horseman - 1st degree, for his significant contribution to the development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In addition, five prominent Dutch citizens – Mrs. Gea Davids, political advisor in the Dordrecht municipality, as well as Mr. Rob Scheelbeek, Mrs. Madeleine Noteborn, Mr. Leendert Korteweg and Mrs. Andrea van den Boogaard from the Twinning Dordrecht-Varna Foundation were honored with the Golden Laurel Twig Award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.

In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Rumen Alexandrov noted that the work of the Bulgarian diplomatic service in strengthening and developing bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of the Netherlands would not have been successful without the enthusiasm, dedication and continued support of these Dutch citizens and friends of our country. The Ambassador noted that the numerous successful projects implemented, as well as the plans for the coming years in the framework of the twinning partnership between the cities of Varna and Dordrecht, give him confidence that the cooperation at the local level will continue successfully in the future and for the mutual benefit of the citizens of our two partner European countries.

Among the numerous guests, who attended the ceremony at the Embassy of Bulgaria in The Hague were also H.E. Countess Van Zuylen van Nijevelt - den Beer Portugael, H.E. Mrs. Bea ten Tusscher, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bulgaria, the Mayor of Dordrecht – Mr. Wouter Kolff, Prof. Ekaterina Trendafilova, President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, officials of the royal governance of the Friesland province and of the Municipality of Dordrecht, many ambassadors, as well as prominent Bulgarian and Dutch citizens. The event was widely covered by several Dutch television and regional print media, as well as in the social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.