Participating were BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Mayor of Kazanlak Galina Stoyanova, MEP Andrey Novakov, Head of the National Alliance of Producers of Essential Oil Crops Zara Klisurova, among others.

The inauguration of the press club completes the work of BTA Director General Maxim Minchev [who died in 2020], Valchev said at the opening. “I am glad that Kazanlak joins the discussion dedicated to the future of Europe,” he added.

“We organize these conferences to gather ideas which we summarize and submit to Brussels. The conference in Kazanlak is about regional development,” Valchev also said.

Stoyanova stressed: “It is important to work together at regional level, to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses developing economy, culture, and tourism.”

Novakov said that mobility is crucial for better regional development. In his words, it is necessary for the people to have access to all social services. He emphasized that healthcare and education are needed in both big cities and small settlements and are of key importance for tackling depopulation in rural areas. Novakov gave the example of Germany where regions are extremely well connected and smaller towns and villages can develop tourism, light industry while business is situated in the cities.

/KK/