Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov awarded Wednesday afternoon the country’s highest order to Belgium’s Ambassador Philip Beke.

The “Stara Planina” (“The Balkan Mountain”) order was presented to Beke for his exceptional contribution to the development of the relations between Bulgaria and Belgium as well as for promoting Bulgaria’s good image within the EU.

In July 2008 Bulgaria’s Minister of Culture Stefan Danailov awarded His Excellency with an order for his special efforts to promote Bulgaria’s culture abroad.