site.btaBTA Director General Confers with Odesa Mayor, Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev conferred with Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov and Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov on Thursday. The meeting took place at the Odesa City Hall minutes after Trukhanov reported on a new threat of a missile attack on the city. On Wednesday, there were a total of four air raid alerts in Odesa.

Valchev extended an invitation to Trukhanov to participate in the opening of the upcoming 19th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which BTA plans to organize in a hybrid way: on-site in Odesa, Bolgrad, Izmail and Zorya (Kamchik) as a sign of support to the Bulgarian community in the Odesa Province, as well as electronically. Thursday's meeting also discussed issues concerning the activities of the national press club of BTA in Odesa, which, as was emphasized by both sides, is an information bridge between Odesa and Bulgaria.

Trukhanov underscored the relevance of the meeting, as Ukraine celebrates Journalist’s Day on June 6. "The public is asking for verified and objective information. This is the strength of professional journalism," the Odesa Mayor noted.

The parties also discussed issues related to the development of international cultural relations.

Some three months ago, on March 4, BTA Director General Valchev extended an invitation to Oleg Kipper, head of the Odesa regional military administration, to participate in the opening of the upcoming 19th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, as well. The meeting will take place on June 19.

The Bulgarian community in Odesa Province numbers 150,000 people, according to the official population census in Ukraine in 2001, making it the third-largest segment of the Bulgarian diaspora. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Bulgarians live in the city of Odesa. The largest compact groups of Bulgarians in the province are concentrated in the districts of Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.