site.btaUPDATED BTA, Georgian Public Broadcaster Sign Agreement to Exchange News

BTA and Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) signed a cooperation agreement that will allow the exchange of news between Bulgaria and Georgia. The event took place in the BTA head office in Sofia Friday.

The document was undersigned by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and visiting GPB Director General Tinatin Berdzenishvili. She is in Sofia to participate in a meeting of the leaders of public media organizations from Eastern Europe, which is part of the calendar of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The Bulgarian National Radio is hosting the event.

GPB includes television, radio and Internet channels.

“In 1995 - 3 years after Bulgaria recognized Georgia's independence on January 15, 1992 - BTA signed a protocol of intentions and basic principles for cooperation with the Georgian news agency Gruzinform, but no contract was signed, and in 2004 Gruzinform ceased operation as the national news agency of Georgia. These functions are now performed by the GPB and therefore BTA starts exchanging news with the GPB. So far, news from both countries has come from global news agencies, even though Bulgaria and Georgia are neighboring countries across the Black Sea,” said Valchev. This agreement allows news exchange directly between two countries “which have a common European future, because since 2014, Georgia has an Association Agreement with the European Union, of which Bulgaria has been a full member since 2007”, said also the BTA Director General.

He went on to point out the Bulgarian presence in Georgia: According to the chairman of the Vazrazhdane Union of Bulgarians in Georgia, Raina Beleva, there are about 700 Bulgarians in the country. A Sofia Garden opened in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 2021 and the same year, Bulgaria supported the creation of an innovative ideas laboratory called "Bulgaria Hall", at the Sukhumi State University in Tbilisi on funding from the Bulgarian Development Aid.

I believe that this memorandum is very important in terms of transparency and the value of news, especially since our common threat is fake news. When a respected agency from Bulgaria and a trusted source like our public service media collaborate, they provide society with reliable information. Nowadays, information is a very important tool for society because we are overwhelmed with it. However, we need to trust and select only a few reliable sources. This collaboration will add value to both organizations.

GPB Director General Tinatin Berdzenishvili hailed the signing of the agreement as an important act. "I believe that this memorandum is very important in terms of transparency and the value of news, especially since our common threat is fake news. When a respected agency from Bulgaria and a trusted source like our public service media collaborate, they provide society with reliable information. Nowadays, information is a very important tool for society because we are overwhelmed with it. However, we need to trust and select only a few reliable sources. This collaboration will add value to both organizations."

She went on to speak about the implications for bilateral relations. "The relationship between Georgia and Bulgaria is developing rapidly in a positive way, yet sometimes we lack information about each other. Now, we are establishing a direct communication channel for society. I think the people of Georgia would love to learn much more about Bulgaria and visit your beautiful country for tourism, culture, and much more, especially cultural exchanges. Although this is not my first visit, I am always impressed by the rich cultural heritage here, particularly in classical music. This agreement is a great opportunity for our people to grow closer to each other, so let's begin," she said.

After signing the cooperation agreement with GPB, BTA now provides news with free access from 51 news agencies, including news from the three Caucasian republics: Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, with the possibility for all Bulgarian media to use them in their news output at no cost.

In addition to purchasing information products from 5 global news agencies, after the agreement signed today, BTA provides the Bulgarian media free of charge with news from 46 national agencies from 4 continents (Europe, Asia, America and Africa), with which BTA has similar cooperation agreements, including the national news agencies of all countries neighboring Bulgaria and with 23 European agencies (of which 16 EU members), which are members of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA). BTA has such contracts for free daily information exchange with the national news agencies of Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, The Netherlands, the Philippines, the Republic of North Macedonia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, Vietnam and Yemen, as well as being a subscriber of the national news agency of Ukraine.