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Remarks and Official Statements
U.S. Ambassador Nancy McEldowney Remarks at the Stara Planina Award Ceremony
Coat of Arms Hall, President’s building
July 23, 2009
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,
I am deeply and truly gratified by the honor that has been bestowed upon me today. And I accept this distinction with both humility and hope. Humility because a year is a very short time, and it was just one year ago when we stood together in this hall.
But as the President has said it has been a very busy year and we have launched a great many important projects. And that is why I also use the word hope, because I believe that many of the projects we have launched today are unstoppable – they will continue to take our two countries together and take us forward in the right direction.
Our defense cooperation has helped make Bulgaria stronger and has helped prepare both of us to face the challenges that we see in Afghanistan and around the world.
Our drive for transparency and diversity in the energy sector has positioned Bulgaria to be a leader in the areas of openness and in rejecting the manipulations of monopoly suppliers.
Increased trade and economic cooperation between our two countries has helped created jobs and has helped us both weather the economic storm of the global crisis.
And our determination to press forward on advancement of the rule of law and democratic governance has given hope and inspiration to the weary to continue this vital struggle.
Ambassadors come and go as do governments, although perhaps not always as quickly as I am. But there are things that remain, things that are enduring, principles and fundamental interests that last through the vagaries of change. The strategic partnership between the United States and Bulgaria is based on the same principle, on the same enduring interests and that is why I am confident that our partnership will continue and grow even stronger and deeper than it is now.
Mr. President, I thank you for everything you have done, your commitment and your cooperation in keeping our partnership going ahead forward and strong.
It has truly been an honor to work in Bulgaria as an American Ambassador. The greatest privilege has been the opportunity to serve the best interests of the people of our two countries. And all of this, everything that we have done together, has been achieved by the people who are committed in both our governments and both our countries to continuing.
And so lastly but most importantly I would like to close by expressing heartfelt thanks and my most sincere congratulations to the truly superb professionals of the Bulgarian and American staff of the U.S Embassy. These are the people who truly deserve a medal for these are the people who have worked so hard to make our partnership thrive, and when I leave this country these are the people who would continue to make this happen and to take it forward.
And so I thank you all, and I look forward to see you again in the very near future.