​The non-resident Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Saleh Mohammad Al Ghamdi hosted a reception on Monday evening September 28, 2009 at the Sofia Sheraton on the occasion of the 79th Saudi Arabia National Day. The reception was attended by a large number of Ambassadors and Heads of Missions accredited to the capital of the Republic of Bulgaria in addition to a number of businessmen and mass media journalists from the broadcasting stations, the television channels and the local press. The Grand Mufti of the Muslim Minority in Bulgaria Dr. Mustafa Alish Hadji with a group of his aides attended the reception as well.

The Bulgarian government was represented by the three deputies of the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Messrs. Marin Raykov, Krassimir Kostov and Milen Lyutskanov, in addition to the official speaker of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Dragovest Goranov.Ambassador Al Ghamdi in his speech to the guests expressed his gratitude for those who attended the reception which is being organized for the first time in the Republic of Bulgaria and gave a brief outline of the National Day and the present bilateral relations of the two friendly countries, in addition to some information concerning the “King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology” of which the inauguration coincided with the celebration of this year’s National Day.