PABSEC: Black Sea region could be more attractive than Eurozone

The head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) said on Tuesday that the Black Sea region could become a more attractive region than the eurozone. "We will create a special vision for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation [BSEC] on the 20th anniversary of its establishment," PABSEC head Ismail Safi said during a PABSEC Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday in Istanbul, the Anatolia news agency reported. Representatives from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Russia and Ukraine attended the meeting. On June 25, 1992, the heads of state of 11 countries including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine signed the Summit Declaration and the Bosporus Statement to establish the BSEC. The BSEC aims at fostering interaction and harmony among its member states as well as to ensure peace, stability, prosperity and encouraging friendly and neighborly relations in the Black Sea region. Established on Feb. 26, 1993, as a parliamentary dimension of the BSEC, PABSEC has proved to be an effective forum for inter-parliamentary dialogue in the Black Sea region. With a membership of 76 parliamentarians representing the national parliaments of the 12 BSEC member states, PABSEC facilitates the mobilization of efforts by the national parliaments aimed at promoting democratic values, the rule of law, pluralistic society and market economy.