Moldova handed over the presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), which it held over the last six months. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman told her Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu that she is anytime ready to help achieve the set objectives, IPN reports.
Natalia Gherman told a news conference that a number of projects were launched during the last six months. One of the priorities was to support the dialogue with the EU. In this regard, there were held a number of meetings with European commissioners in charge on different areas. Moldova encouraged the augmentation of trade between the BSEC member states and the EU and greater interaction in such fields as public health, tourism and culture.
Bogdan Aurescu approved of the way Moldova fulfilled its duties as BSEC president. He said that at the last BSEC meeting held under the presidency of Moldova, there were signed a number of documents, which is a sign that the regional and international organizations lay greater emphasis on the cooperation with the BSEC. According to him, the EU is a natural partner of the BSEC and the cooperation is beneficial to both of the sides.
Bogdan Aurescu noted it is the fifth time that Romania takes over the BSEC presidency and it counts on the support of all the partners. Over the next six months, the BSEC presidency wills focus on such areas as tourism promotion, combating of organized crime, development of transport and environment protection.
The next session of the BSEC will take place in Bucharest on November 27-28. Created in 1992, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization counts 12 members, namely Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Serbia, and Ukraine.
