The mandate of Marin Raykov as ambassador of Bulgaria to the United Kingdom expires on March 1. The former ambassador to the USA and current Deputy Foreign Minister Tihomir Stoychev will replace him in London.

The ambassador told the BNR that he had put a lot of effort into the development of British-Bulgarian relations and as a result a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel and former Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly. According to Raikov, "there is a colossal unrealized potential in bilateral relations in the economic sphere. The United Kingdom has established itself as a key partner of Bulgaria at a time when we are facing tests for the security of our region, of Europe".