President Voronin participating in Black Sea Economic Cooperation Meeting

President Vladimir Voronin participates in the 15th Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation (BSECO) Summit, taking place today in Istanbul. According to a press release from the Presidential Press Service, Vladimir Voronin is to deliver a speech and to have bilateral meetings with Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Turkish President and with other heads of the state participating in the forum. The 15th Summit of the organisation is held with a view to “Setting Sails to New Horizons”. On Tuesday, June 26, a conference addressing the energetic sector is planned. Turkey has been holding the six-month long Presidency of BSEC since May 1. The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) was officially launched after the Istanbul Declaration was signed on June 25, 1992. On April 30, 1999, in Tbilisi, the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC member states decided to create BSECO which would be a regional structure for economic cooperation. BSECO has consequently obtained the status of UN observer, on October 8, 1999. BSECO consists of 12 states, including Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Grecia, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Moldova held the Presidency of the organisation in the period from April to October 2005