Vijay Joshi, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Press Trust of India (PTI), recently undertook visits to strengthen media cooperation in the Balkans. On Sunday, Joshi visited the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, following a visit to the BTA National Press Club in Belgrade, Serbia, at the invitation of BTA Director General Kiril Valchev. During the Belgrade visit, Joshi connected with BTA correspondents covering the region, and in Skopje, he was received by BTA correspondent Marinela Velichkova.
Joshi also met with Bulgarian Ambassadors in both capitals and toured the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Centre in Skopje. Previously, Joshi and Valchev participated in the MINDS International spring conference and annual general meeting in Vienna, Austria, where BTA presented “Digital Life for BTA’s Archives.”
Upcoming engagements include a visit to Tryavna to attend a BTA initiative marking the 160th anniversary of Pencho Slaveykov, and a visit to the Museum of Asian and African Art. Joshi and Valchev are scheduled to attend the annual BNR Top 20 Music Awards in Sofia.
The cooperation between PTI and BTA is significant; in 2023, they signed an agreement at the 35th MINDS conference in Toronto, Canada. This pact ensures mutual access to full English-language news services and the daily exchange of major news items. This partnership has already facilitated exchanges, including PTI correspondent Aditi Khanna covering European and Bulgarian elections, and BTA correspondent Nikolay Velev covering India’s general elections.
BTA is a member of MINDS International, a network of global news agencies.
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