Bulgaria works for strengthening the practical direction of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
19 June 2014 News
The Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation has declared it a priority and tries to steer the organization in a more practical direction. Our motto “Better Synergy for Enhanced Competitiveness” implies just that - how through joint efforts to enhance the overall economic potential of our region and to make it more competitive as to the attraction of international investments and encouragement of the comparative advantages of our economies and business, said Minister Kristian Vigenin in his opening statement at the 30th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States, held today in Golden Sands resort, Varna.
In his statement, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister elaborated on the BSEC-EU interaction. Three BSEC and EU Member States – Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, were working in close cooperation on how to further develop the relations between the two organizations, and I believe that this approach will continue in the future, said Kristian Vigenin and added that there is still room for improving the interaction between the BSEC and the EU towards a more practical cooperation.
The Foreign Minister emphasized also on the results achieved in the sectoral cooperation. At our initiative, the topics of youth and sports were discussed for the first time in BSEC history at the Meeting of the Ministers in charge of Youth and Sports of the BSEC Member States, said Minister Vigenin.
The further development of the regional cooperation in the field of technologies was also among our scopes. А virtual platform of ICT clusters in the Black Sea region will be set up as a result of the work of the International Conference "Cooperation of ICT clusters in the Black Sea region for growth, prosperity and competitiveness," held in April in Sofia.
In the past six months the normal work of our Organization faced serious challenges resulting from the complicated situation in the Black sea region. The Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office has endeavoured in these difficult circumstances to secure that we remain focused on the main goals and the agenda of the Organization, said in conclusion Minister Kristian Vigenin.
Among the participants at today's meeting were representatives of the Member States, the BSEC Related Bodies, Observer Countries and Organizations, Sectoral Dialogue Partners and other guests. The agenda of the meeting includes a review of the cooperation within the BSEC and adoption of final documents, discussed at yesterday's meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials. They are related to different organizational and financial issues, identifying the countries coordinators of BSEC Working Groups, etc.
A ceremony of transferring the rotating presidency from Bulgaria to Greece will be held at the end of the meeting. Athens will hold the chairmanship of the organization in the period 1 July 2014 - 31 December 2014.
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