Democratic Bulgaria Commends BTA Director General's Managerial Approach after Presentation of 2025 Report

Vanya Suharova

BTA's activity report for 2025 is being presented at Parliament's Culture and Media Committee, Sofia, June 25, 2026 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

25.06.2026 17:51

(BTA)

Democratic Bulgaria MP Chilo Popov praised the management of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and its Director General Kiril Valchev during a parliamentary hearing on the agency's 2025 activity report, saying the institution demonstrated a professional and effective managerial approach.

Speaking at a meeting of Parliament's Culture and Media Committee on Thursday, Popov said he was highly impressed by the results presented in the report and commended the way BTA was being run. "Your approach is clearly managerial and serious. It shows that a state institution can be a source of pride, can be well organized, and can even serve as an example for the private sector," Popov said.

He also highlighted BTA's attention to corporate identity, including its visual appearance, typography, branding and public image.

"I am pleasantly surprised by the respect shown for corporate identity. The way an institution presents itself to the outside world is a marker of seriousness," he said, adding that BTA's work contributes to promoting Bulgaria's good name internationally.

During the discussion, Popov asked Valchev about BTA's role in the international exchange of news and whether the agency's global presence could be further strengthened.

Valchev said cooperation among news agencies traditionally involves reciprocal access to content free of charge, although this model is now used only rarely. He noted that BTA is expanding its network of correspondents in all neighbouring countries and strengthening its presence across the Balkans and the Black Sea region.

A second pillar of the agency's international strategy is the development of direct partnerships with national news agencies, Valchev said. Dedicated teams within BTA work exclusively on international cooperation and send daily proposals for Bulgaria-related stories to partner agencies abroad.

According to the Director General, BTA has signed 52 cooperation agreements with foreign news agencies and is currently in talks with around 40 additional partners. He cited the recently concluded agreement with Uzbekistan's National Information Agency as particularly significant in light of the growing number of Uzbek citizens working in Bulgaria.

Valchev stressed that since its establishment 128 years ago, BTA has had a dual mission: to inform Bulgarians about developments abroad and to present Bulgaria to international audiences. He added that the agency has also become an important source of regional news, noting that in some parts of the country BTA correspondents remain the only reliable source of timely information.

/NF/