Germany is Bulgaria’s most important trade partner and strategic investor, Bulgaria’s President Rossen Plevneliev said after the meeting in Sofia with German President Joachim Gauck. President Plevneliev pointed out that there are over 5,000 active German companies in Bulgaria and 1,200 of them have a representation in that country. The trade exchange between Bulgaria and Germany amounts to EUR 6.3 billion and the German investments in Bulgaria are to the tune of EUR 2.6 billion, President Plevneliev further pointed out. Earlier on Wednesday President Rossen Plevneliev was awarded by his German counterpart with the Grand Cross Special Class Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his contribution to the development of the bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and Germany.