February 4 (BTA) - Addressing a sitting of the parliamentary Culture Committee late on Thursday, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev talked about his strategic plan for the future of the Bulgarian News Agency. He presented five strategic goals to the MPs before they passed the draft 2022 state budget on first reading.

Firstly, the agency sets a goal to distribute its news products at no charge for users as well as to launch its new website in March, aiming towards freedom.

"The second goal is the truth and I would like BTA to become free of any influences, advertisements and paid advertising", Valchev stressed, adding that there will be no advertisements in BTA press clubs anymore, starting March.

The third goal of BTA is to provide knowledge. In Valchev's words, two years from now, the agency will have press clubs in all regional centres in Bulgaria.

Furthermore, BTA opens a press club in Skopje on Friday. Until the end of 2022, the agency should have a permanently based correspondent in Romania, and later correspondents in Greece, Serbia and Turkey. Those correspondents will work with all media in Bulgaria, Valchev noted.

The fourth goal focuses on the Bulgarian community abroad. BTA's newly launched rubric titled "BG World" provides news concerning Bulgarians abroad. World meeting of Bulgarian media continue as well - the 2022 meeting will be in Israel. Sofia will host the 30th General Assembly of Association of the Balkan News Agencies, Valchev said.

The fifth goal of BTA is to preserve memory. The agency keeps newsletters dating back from 1898, whose condition is extremely poor, Valchev stressed. In his words, BTA's restaurant will be transformed into a modern archive available for all media and researchers.

The 2022 draft state budget envisages Culture Ministry budget to stand at 344.5 million leva, up by 40.83 per cent from its last year's budget. If adopted, some 10.1 million leva will be allocated to BTA.