Moldovan foreign minister attends meeting of BSEC member states' Council of Ministers

Chisinau, 1 July /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and European Integration Minister Andrei Galbur participated in the 34th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation’s member states in Sochi, Russia, today, the Foreign and European Integration Ministry’s information and media communication service has reported

The participants in the meeting, held under the chairmanship-in-office of Russia, summed up the activities carried out during the mandate of this country and exchanged opinions on the medium- and long-term priorities of the organization. At the same time, the event’s agenda included subjects on sectoral cooperation, approval of the 2017 budget, as well as assessing ways of reforming BSEC and optimizing the work of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat.     

In his speech, Minister Andrei Galbur stressed the need to strengthen the cooperation within BSEC and enhance visibility regionally and internationally. Also, the minister reiterated the importance to continue the process of BSEC’s reformation. The main goal is to work out and implement concrete and tangible projects for the residents of the member states, as well as to optimize the functioning of the Permanent International Secretariat. Andrei Galbur spoke out for maintaining the economic character of the organization. He declared for depoliticizing the events and activities carried out within BSEC and pointed out a number of joint priorities which may be implemented by the organisation member states. Galbur gave as example possibility to make a synergy of projects dealing with the transport and tourism sectors in the Black Sea Basin.   

At the same time, within his visit to Sochi, Andrei Galbur paid homage to the Istanbul tragedy victims.

BSEC is a structure of regional cooperation, the foundations of which were laid in 1992, when leaders of 11 states (Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Greece) signed the Bosphorus Declaration. The 11 states to sign the 1992 Declaration are founding states, and Serbia joined BSEC in 2001. Moldova exercised this mandate in the first quarter of 2015.   

(Editor L. Alcaza)