site.btaBTA, Bulgaria-Japan Business Association Sign Cooperation Agreement

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and the Japan-Bulgaria Business Association (JBBA) concluded a cooperation agreement here Wednesday. The document was signed by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Todor Kesimov, Chairman of the JBBA Board, at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia.

The agreement provides for the regular coverage of the JBBA activities and its members, copyrights related to information and photos provided by the association, and collaboration in event organization.

The Japan-Bulgaria Business Association is the seventh bilateral chamber in Bulgaria with which BTA has formally established a partnership. BTA already has such agreements with the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian-Saudi Chamber of Commerce, and the Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Valchev noted during the ceremony.

"Today, BTA is expanding its circle of business organization partners with one of the symbolic organizations of this week — the Japan-Bulgaria Business Association. It is symbolic because the World Expo 2025 has just opened in Osaka, Japan, with Bulgaria among the participating countries," he said.

He emphasized that BTA encourages the association’s members to use the agency as a platform and expressed hope that the JBBA would regularly share information about its activities.

The BTA Director General pointed out that the news agency does not treat economic information about Bulgaria as advertising and writes about companies with their names.

Todor Kesimov said that Valchev’s message had been heard and would be conveyed to all associated companies. He thanked BTA for recognizing the Japan-Bulgaria Business Association as a partner and for offering support in raising awareness of the association’s work among the Bulgarian public.

Valchev also used the occasion to announce an upcoming special issue of BTA’s LIK magazine, which will be dedicated to Bulgaria’s participation in world expos, with a special focus on Expo 1970 in Osaka and archival material on Bulgaria-Japan relations dating back to 1939.

The issue will be published in Bulgarian and English, and is also expected to be translated into Japanese. The goal is to have the special edition published before May 18, when Bulgaria Day will be celebrated at Expo 2025 and the magazine will be officially presented in Osaka, Valchev said.