Moldova tenders SEECP presidency

Moldova has tendered Turkey the presidency of the South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP). Moldova's outgoing president Vladimir Voronin told a news conference on June 5, ending the SEECP summit in Chisinau, that it was a step forward in strengthening the cooperation process within the region, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The SEECP presidency for Moldova was a highly-responsible political challenge, meant to contribute to Moldova's advancement towards the EU. The summit of heads of states and governments adopted several documents pursuing regional cooperation. They reiterate the commitment of the member states to build a region of democracy, stability, security and prosperity,” Vladimir Voronin stated. Bulgaria's president Georgi Parvanov has saluted the measures pursuing to make more efficient the cooperation process. “The participating countries are in an irreversible cooperation process, pursuing to strengthen the regional solidarity and cooperation. At the same time, the process of EU integration is individual for each country,” said the Bulgarian official. “South-Eastern Europe, in terms of economic and cultural relationships, is important for everybody. This area has a special character, and it's important to create an integrating environment, to promote the integration processes. The economic crisis is the main problem in the region. During its presidency, Turkey will work to strengthen the relations between the countries from this region. We'll try to boost the integrationist processes into the European structures,” said Turkish prime-minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The SEECP comprises 11 countries. Moldova has held its presidency from 2008 to 2009.