On December 9, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was celebrated in the National Palace of Culture,

Hall 11 of the Lumiere Cinema. It is celebrated every year on November 29, and the date for it was determined by a decision of the United Nations General Assembly in 1977. The gala evening, along with a concert, in Sofia was organized by the Embassy of the State of Palestine, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the representatives of the specialized bodies of the United Nations. Guests were: Mr. Simeon Sakskoburggotski, Prime Minister of Bulgaria (2001-2005), Mr. Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria (2002-2012), the Minister of Social Development of Palestine, Mr. Ahmad Majdalani, officials, ambassadors, diplomats, journalists, representatives of the Palestinian diaspora in our country, friends of the Palestinian people.

Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the State of Palestine in our country - Mr. Adham Zainaldin, was the first to deliver a speech in which he welcomed the attendees, reminded them of the history of Palestine and the development of the Palestinian issue, informed them of the current development of events in the state.

After him, the special guest of the evening spoke - the Minister of Social Development of Palestine, Mr. Ahmad Majdalani. He expressed special thanks to President Mr. Georgi Parvanov for his contribution to the development of relations between Bulgaria and Palestine, recalled the hundreds of Palestinians who received their higher education in our country and emphasized: "On this day of solidarity, we need your support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in order to save peace, stability and security in the Middle East region as the alternative to that is chaos, violence, extremism." This was followed by speeches of Mr. Petar Kraychev, General Director of the General Directorate "Bilateral Relations" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Christina de Bruin, UNICEF representative for Bulgaria.

Then Mr. Ahmad Majdalani, presented the badge of honor of the State of Palestine for merits in the development of our bilateral relations to Mr. Simeon Sakskoburggotski and Mr. Georgi Parvanov, President of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The festive evening continued with a concert program by the graduates of the National School of Dance Art. The audience enthusiastically applauded the fabulous ballet etudes of the "Classical Dances" specialty, led by Mrs. Riolina Topalova, and the beautiful Bulgarian dances performed with perfect professionalism by the Representative Ensemble for Bulgarian Dances - NUTI, led by Mr. Asen Pavlov, in a team with Mr. Borislav Mutafchiyski and Mrs. Kristina Panova.

The special guest of the evening was the famous Palestinian artist Mohammed Aldairi, who surprised the audience with impressive artistic presentations of the art of portraiture.

The photos are provided by the Embassy of the State of Palestine in the Republic of Bulgaria. Above: Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the State of Palestine in our country - Mr. Adham Zainaldin