Deputy Minister Angel Velitchkov met with the Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of BSEC
21 December 2013 News
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Angel Velitchkov met today with Dr. Victor Tsvirkun, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). They discussed the priorities of the six-month rotating presidency of the organization, which our country assumes on 1 January 2014, and the possibilities for further development of the regional cooperation within the BSEC.
"It is important to increase the visibility of BSEC in region and Bulgaria will work for this," said Deputy Minister Velitchkov. He emphasized that during Bulgaria’s Chairmanship-in-Office, the country will focus on the project - oriented approach to regional cooperation. As other priorities of Bulgaria’s rotating presidency, Angel Velitchkov referred to the cooperation in the field of transport, youth and sports, fighting organized crime, health, information and communication technologies, strengthening the business contacts between the countries of the region.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary General agreed on the crucial importance of intensifying the cooperation between the BSEC and the EU and the need to identify specific projects and areas of practical cooperation. Dr. Victor Tsvirkun pointed out the unique opportunity to deepen this interaction, given that from 1 January 2014 Bulgaria takes over the presidency of the organization, and Greece - the EU presidency.
On his part, Angel Velitchkov emphasized that we will coordinate our efforts with the other two EU member states in BSEC and it is already on the agenda for the beginning of next year to hold an expert meeting between Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. He added that our country appreciates the good cooperation with the Permanent International Secretariat of BSEC and will rely on its support for the successful implementation of Bulgaria’s rotating presidency.