BSEC countries convene in Istanbul

The 20th Anniversary Summit of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) ended with a full commitment to the future goals of the organization, as the final declaration of the summit was agreed with the 12 members of the organization. President Abdullah Gul held a joint press conference along with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic as co-chairs of the summit in Istanbul, during which he said that the BSEC has assumed important roles in the last two decades in terms of developing solidarity, cooperation and conciliation among the countries in the Black Sea basin and that the synergy emerging out of this organization greatly contributed to the consolidation of peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Gul said that Turkey, which was set to take over rotating presidency of the organization on July 1 aimed to transform the BSEC into a more functional group. "As part of this, the Economic Agenda which will determine the targets of the organization for the next decade was adopted. This document is about its vision for 2020 regarding such issues as trade, transportation, energy, communication, science and technology, tourism and education," Gul said, adding, " We will deepen the cooperation as to the international energy security. We will also focus on fighting against terrorism, human trafficking, climate change and organized crime. I hope the member states take advantage of the BSEC more in order to develop their existing solidarity and cooperation." Speaking for his part, Nikolic said that he was happy that Istanbul, a symbol of the common and rich culture and history of BSEC member states, hosted the 20th anniversary summit. Within the scope of the BSEC summit yesterday, Gul also met with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili. All these meetings were also closed to the press.