site.btaTrainee Attachés of Diplomatic Institute's 18th Course Visit BTA

Trainee attachés of the 18th Trainee Attaché Course named after prominent politician Alexander Malinov (1867-1938) visited the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Thursday. They were accompanied by Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Diplomatic Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

At BTA's National Press Club, Director General Kiril Valchev talked about the news agency's role in the development of diplomacy and in maintaining good relations with foreign countries through information. BTA is very useful for gathering information about the world, which is then used in Bulgaria. Through its English Service, BTA is also the only constant source of information on developments in Bulgaria for foreign countries.

Valchev also said the sources of information used by BTA are of great use to Bulgarian diplomats. He noted that BTA has partnership agreements with many news agencies, the main goal being "cooperation in the ocean of information by exchanging one interesting news item a day".

The Director General said Bulgaria's Ambassador Yanko Yordanov in Abuja has been trying to revive the interest of Nigerian students in Bulgarian universities. Information is at the heart of all decision making, he said.

BTA has 40 press clubs, including in all of Bulgaria's regional capitals, in regions largely populated by Bulgarians such as Taraclia and Odesa, in the capitals of neighbouring countries - Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia), Ankara (Turkiye) and Bucharest (Romania), at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island and on the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii, Valchev said.

He added that BTA is part of MINDS International, the global network of leading news agencies. BTA is part of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA. It is a great success that Sofia is the seat of the Association of Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE), said Valchev.