site.btaUPDATED BTA's Cross-Border Conference in Skopje and Kyustendil Focuses on Transport Connectivity, Googneighbourliness, Education
Information and transport connectivity, goodneighbourly relations and education were the focus of the third cross-border conference under the project "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future", implemented by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The event took place at the BTA Press Club in Skopje on Tuesday, with the participants at the BTA National Press Club in Kyustendil joining the event online.
BTA Director General Kiril Valchev opened the conference saying that BTA works for the common future of information connectivity in the Balkans. He emphasised that BTA aims to expand its current network of permanent offices in the Balkans with the goal to have BTA correspondents in every country in the region in order to hold meetings and conferences such as the one in Skopje on Tuesday. Regarding the contract with the Media Information Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia, Valchev said that the two agencies should think about how to develop their cooperation. "This consistent dissemination by BTA of information from the Balkans is a continuation of the policy of Bulgaria, which dedicated its first presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018 to EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, as well as to the common European policy for promoting the development of regional cooperation through targeted funding with cross-border cohesion funds", said Valchev.
Dragan Antonovski, General Director of the State Information Agency in North Macedonia, said that information connects people, but information also knows how to divide people. "As information professionals, we know that while we can produce professional information, we can also produce disinformation. So professionalism, not information, is the essence", Antonovski pointed out. According to him, any information can be manipulated, so this is the reason news agencies are the pillars of creating professional, factually correct information, so people can get closer to each other and learn more about each other. "Because usually when you don't know things, you leave space for misinformation", Antonovski said.
Toni Jakimovski, head of the Joint Secretariat of the Bulgaria - North Macedonia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme, said that increasing connectivity, integrated development and greener development are the three priorities of the cross-border programme between the two countries. He defined strengthening the territorial cohesion as the common goal of the programme, which covers the 2021-2027 period and has a total budget of EUR 31 million. It is financed by the European Union with funds from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III). Jakimovski pointed out that the goal of the programme is achieved through the increase of the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and improving mobility and connectivity in the region with the construction of the Klepalo checkpoint between Strumyani and Berovo.
Bulgarian Ambassador to North Macedonia Angel Angelov said that as an EU Member State, Bulgaria helps the candidate countries with various projects. He specified that in the last five years, Bulgaria has allocated nearly BGN 6 million for various projects. As important highlights, he singled out the joint project between the statistical institutes of the two countries, as well as the partnership between the information agencies BTA and MIA. "The main part, in recent years, seems to be related to helping children and disadvantaged people. We built a day care centre for autistic children in Skopje, then we built the care centre for autistic children in Ohrid", Angelov said.
Kyustendil Mayor Ognyan Atanasov said that good communication between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia is extremely important for Kyustendil as a border municipality. "Kriva Palanka and Kyustendil are only 40 kilometers from each other on either side of the border. We are regular visitors to Kriva Palanka, just as the residents of Kriva Palanka are regular visitors to Kyustendil," said Atanasov. He emphasized the importance of several implemented projects in the fields of tourism and information connectivity, and defined the International Transport Corridor 8 as "extremely important". The corridor's construction is expected to be completed in 2030.
Driton Rusi, Assistant Director of North Macedonia's Railway Infrastructure company, also emphasised that building the railway line between his country, Bulgaria and Albania is not an easy task. According to him, the section is divided into three parts, with the first section to be completed in 2024 and the second in the first quarter of 2026. "The work is intensive, two large companies are working on the corridor", Rusi noted. He said that a tender has been announced for the selection of a contractor for the third part of the route, which according to him will be a great engineering challenge, with 22 tunnels and 52 bridges on a section of 23 km. "We as a country do not have the opportunity to realise all these investments with our own funds. I must remind that we have a huge help from Europe", added Rusi.
Deputy Mayor of Kyustendil Municipality Nikolay Dochev said that cross-border cooperation programmes have created great connectivity between people along the border. "The beginning of our cooperation was set in 2005, when the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works opened an office in Kyustendil, where cooperation on both sides of the border could be supported at the local level. Two years later, we also opened an office in Strumica, so that the entire territory can be more fully covered", Dochev recalled. He noted that one of the main tasks of these programmes is to prepare the planning and implementation of projects financed by the EU, adding that about 100 projects were financed with a budget of about 20 million euros for the period 2007-2013, and 78 projects were financed with 19.5 million euros for the period 2014-2020.
Project Coordinator Stefana Markovic said that the EDU Center promotes the development of individuals and groups and gave an example of a project that aims to strengthen the creative and entrepreneurial skills of students by creating inspiring workspaces, organising educational and social events and providing personalised services to stimulate their growth. Markovic pointed out that partners from Estonia, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, and India were attracted to the implementation of the project. "This important partnership represents a cooperative relationship, which is the main force of Europe and the European family, to which our country aspires", Markovic said.
The project "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" is implemented by BTA with the support of the European Commission and builds on the already implemented project "Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future". Among the objectives of the project are: a better understanding of the role of cohesion policy, incl. in the Balkans; raising awareness of projects funded by the EU through the Cohesion Policy; promoting an open dialogue on the results of its implementation at the local level, as well as civil participation in issues related to cohesion policy. This is another project after "Europe in Bulgaria: Common Future", carried out by BTA.
The beginning of the series of conferences on the project was given on December 20 last year in Sofia. The first regional conference on the project was held on January 16 in Rousse, where mayors and experts discussed the novelties for the period 2021-2027 and the results achieved during the period 2014-2020. The next day, BTA hosted the first Bucharest-Ruse cross-border conference. A cross-border conference on the project was also held in Edirne and Haskovo.
To date, conferences have also been held in the cities of Razgrad, Veliko Tarnovo, Silistra, Gabrovo, Burgas, Sliven, Yambol, Kazanlak, Blagoevgrad, Stara Zagora. In the period until August 2024, BTA will organize discussions in its press clubs in Varna, Vidin, Vratsa, Dobrich, Kardjali, Lovech, Montana, Pazardjik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Samokov, Smolyan, Sofia, Targovishte, Haskovo and Shumen, as well as and cross-border conferences in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Thessaloniki.
/MT/
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