site.btaUPDATED BTA, Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce Sign Cooperation Agreement

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and Chair of the Board of the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI) Burhan Nemutlu signed a cooperation agreement in BTA's National Press Club here on Monday. The event was attended by the Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Aylin Sekizkok.

Valchev said that BTA will expect the Chamber to provide regular updates about its activities as well as the activities of individual companies. He expressed hope that this approach of the Agency will increasingly become an example for other media that information about companies is not advertising. He said that the Agency will partner with the Chamber in organizing various forums. The partnership with the Chamber will also improve BTA's data on Bulgarian-Turkish economic relations. He cited data from the BTA Reference Library department from early 2022 that direct investments from Turkiye in Bulgaria are worth over EUR 1 billion.

Sekizkok said that data from Turkiye suggests that these investments are worth close to EUR 2 billion. Nemutlu said that more than 2,200 Turkish companies and 1,300 representative offices operate in Bulgaria. Some 15,000 jobs have been created.

Nemutlu reported that there are more than 200 members of the Chamber and pointed out that in the last two years there has been a trend of interest of Bulgarian companies in investing in Turkiye, not only of Turkish in Bulgaria.

Valchev pointed out that the reason to have the agreement signed in October was the tenth anniversary of the Chamber's establishment, as well as Turkiye's celebration of its centenary as a Republic on October 29. "This year is particularly strong in terms of relations with Turkiye for BTA, because at the start of the year, on the day Ataturk left Bulgaria and his diplomatic mission here, BTA opened a National Press Club with a permanent correspondent in Ankara," Valchev said. He pointed out that BTA has excellent relations with Anadolu Agency, as the two agencies exchange news daily. Both BTA and Anadolu Agency are members of the Association of Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe, the BTA Director General noted.

Sekizkok pointed out that the Turkish Embassy has two main partners - BTCCI and BTA. Sekizkok described the presence of a BTA correspondent in Ankara as extremely important.

Valchev presented Nemutlu and Sekizkok with a medal and a postage stamp commemorating BTA's 125th anniversary.