site.btaBTA and British-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce Sign Partnership Agreement

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and the British-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (BBCC) signed a partnership agreement at a ceremony held at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia on Monday.

The agreement was signed by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Chair of the Board of BBCC Miroslava Kostadinova.

Valchev noted that BTA is expanding its circle of partners among the chambers of commerce in Bulgaria by joining with BBCC, pointing out that this comes in a year when BBCC marks ten years since its establishment in January 2015.

On this occasion, he presented Kostadinova with the BTA news item from January 14, when then UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited then Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and the Chamber's creation was announced, along with some of BBCC's landmark news items from the past ten years archived by BTA.

He also noted that this is yet another industrial chamber with which BTA has signed a cooperation agreement, recalling that BTA already has such agreements with the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan-Bulgaria Business Association, the Bulgarian-Saudi Chamber of Commerce, and the Bulgarian-Moldovan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Valchev said these partnership agreements are part of BTA’s broader strategy to maintain cooperation with professional organizations, adding that the agency has more than 30 such agreements in various economic and industrial fields. “Under these agreements, we systematically receive information from these associations and chambers, with proper copyright arrangements for the materials provided to us,” he said. He added that this is how BTA ensures that all Bulgarian media outlets have better access to information about business in Bulgaria.

He also highlighted BTA’s partnership with British news agencies. BTA has had long-standing cooperation with British agencies. “Reuters has been one of the main sources of information we distribute to all media outlets throughout our 127-year history,” he said. “We also have an excellent partnership with the UK’s national news agency Press Association, with whom we are jointly involved in two organizations: MINDS International and the European Alliance of News Agencies.” He further recalled that BTA, together with the UK’s national agency, continues to lead the World Congress of News Agencies, whose last meeting before the COVID-19 pandemic was held in Bulgaria.

Referring to the cooperation between BTA and BBCC, which includes 250 member companies, Valchev said this was an opportunity for them to feature in BTA’s news coverage, including in the agency’s English-language service, and to appear by name. “Unlike the practice in some other Bulgarian media, BTA names the companies in its news,” he said. He also noted that cooperation with the Chamber has intensified in recent years, citing the growing number of publications. “In 2017, there was one publication from the Chamber. Over the years, the number has grown, especially following the establishment of the specialized Economy Directorate. In 2024, we have had nine Bulgarian-language publications and another five in English. Since the start of this year, there have already been 14 Bulgarian-language publications and two in English,” he said. He noted that the ultimate goal of the agreement is for BTA to publish weekly items on BBCC’s activities or its individual members, presenting investments, new ventures in Bulgaria, and social projects.

Valchev added that the signing of the agreement with the Chamber comes not only in the year marking its tenth anniversary, but also during the month when British embassies around the world celebrate the King’s birthday – a tradition not tied to the monarch’s actual date of birth but observed in June.

“There is a large Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom; if we go by the statistics for permanent residence applications, we are speaking of over 300,000 to 400,000 Bulgarians living there. For them, BTA is a source of information; some of them are interested in working in Bulgaria,” he said. “Through our platform, British-Bulgarian companies in Bulgaria will be able to provide information about opportunities for those returning from the UK to work here,” he added.

Kostadinova thanked BTA for extending a hand in cooperation. “For the Chamber, it is extremely important to have a media partner like BTA, where we can rely on objective and comprehensive coverage of our activities. On our part, you can count on us to provide accurate information and be active so that BTA can attend as many of our events as are suitable for coverage,” she said. She expressed satisfaction that cooperation with BTA has become more active over the past year or two and thanked the BTA team for covering their events. “We are a platform that helps British companies in Bulgaria and Bulgarian companies that wish to work, or already operate, in the United Kingdom. It is important for the Bulgarian public to be informed about what we are doing, about important changes and developments in economic and business relations between the two countries, and about current news and processes taking place,” she said. “It is important for us to have a partner like BTA to help us spread this kind of information about our members, Bulgarian companies, and Bulgarian business,” she added.

Valchev presented Kostadinova with the commemorative medal and stamp issued for BTA’s 125th anniversary, as well as the postage stamp printed on the occasion of the 20th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, held in May this year. She also received the latest English-language issue of LIK magazine, dedicated to Bulgaria’s participation in World Expos, which has also been released in Japanese.