Bulgarian honour for Italian Ambassador Zarra

(ANSA) - SOFIA, 21 MAR - At an official ceremony held today in the Hall of Arms of the Presidential Palace, the Italian Ambassador to Sofia, Giuseppina Zarra, was awarded the Bulgarian honour of the Order 'Knight of Madara' First Class, conferred by the Head of State, Rumen Radev, for her merits in strengthening and developing bilateral political, economic and cultural relations between Bulgaria and Italy in a spirit of friendship and cooperation and as a high appreciation of her professionalism.
    Defence, energy and health are just some of the many areas in which Bulgaria and Italy have deepened their ties over the past four years during Ambassador Zarra's tenure. In her speech, the Head of Mission, whose term of office in Bulgaria is coming to an end, expressed her admiration for Bulgaria's culture, history and traditions, emphasising the thousand-year-old bonds of friendship that bind Bulgaria and Italy, made even more strategic by their common membership of the European Union and NATO and their shared Euro-Atlantic ideals and values.