site.btaBTA Director General Takes Part in Tree Planting in Front of Anadolu Agency's Headquarters as Greeting for Turkish Republic's 100th Anniversary
Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and Anadolu Agency (AA) Director General Serdar Karagoz planted a tree in front of the AA headquarters in Ankara on the eve of Turkiye's National Tree Planting Day on November 11. The tree planting followed a meeting between Valchev and Karagoz in their capacity as Secretary General and President, respectively, of the Sofia-based Association of the Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE).
The sides discussed the preparation of a joint project for the development of the ABNA-SE website and the formation of special teams in each of the 12 national news agencies in the organization, for which EU funding will be sought. They also talked about the establishment of cooperation with other regional associations and the addition of new members, such as Moldova's national information agency, Moldpres. Also on the agenda of the meeting was the preparation for the ABNA-SE General Assembly in 2024, which will be the first big event to be held at AA's new building in Istanbul.
Karagoz presented the momentary state of the Turkish national information agency, which employs around 1,800 people, including some 900 people in 13 regional correspondent offices and in smaller offices in almost all cities in Turkiye as well as approximately 300 people abroad in 8 regional offices in some 50 countries. Additionally, AA uses as freelance correspondents around 2,000 journalists outside of Turkiye and some 900 in the country, who cover almost all settlements.
Valchev acquainted the AA Director General with the Bulgarian News Agency's project for electric mobility, which by the year's end will allow BTA's reporters in Sofia and the correspondents across the country to use 30 new electric cars as well as hybrid cars abroad. On his part, Karagoz offered Valchev to test drive the Turkish electric car Togg, which the AA uses and is said to cover up to 500 km with a single battery charge for some 35 minutes.
On the occasion of BTA's 125th anniversary, Valchev presented Karagoz with a commemorative medal and a postage stamp. On his part, Karagoz gifted the BTA Director General with a medal for Anadolu Agency's 100th anniversary, marked in 2020.
Valchev invited the AA Director General to visit Bulgaria at the start of 2024, including to see one of Bulgaria's winter resorts.
In addition to ABNA-SE, the Bulgarian News Agency and AA cooperate within the European Association of News Agency (EANA) and MINDS International (Media Innovation Network), an association of 25 leading news agencies from around the globe for partnership in information services.
/DS/
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