YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Armenia is going to assume the Chairmanship of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation in November for half a year, said the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbanyan.
“In November Armenia will assume the Chairmanship-in-Office of the BSEC for 6 months. This is certainly honorable for our country and creates new responsibilities also,” he said. “The Government of Armenia, Foreign Ministry and other authorized bodies have started to get prepared to meet the activities appropriately.”
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian, Armenia, which has BSEC representation in Istanbul, is a founding member of the organization.
The main priorities for the Republic of Armenia during its chairmanship of the BSEC will be focused on building further regional cooperation in the fields of transportation and energy, agriculture and science, technology and communications, education, the environment, tourism, public administration, and cooperation in emergency assistance, he explained during an interview with Arminfo.
“As a BSEC member-state and the next Chairman of the organization, we are confident that the organization is playing a significant role in the economic and social life of not only the region, but the entire world,” Gharibjanian said.
According to Gharibjanian, Armenia has signed onto almost all BSEC compacts in these areas, especially those agreemen’s on transportation and energy cooperation, he said, adding that Armenia is also a country-coordinator for energy cooperation in the region.
There is also representative of the Republic of Armenia in the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat, a key sector of the organization responsible for international economic policy and BSEC-EU cooperation. A representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry is also a board member of a number of other BSEC related bodies.
The Organization of the Sea Economic Cooperation was established in March 1994 in Istanbul after the Heads of State and Government of 11 countries signed in Istanbul the Summit Declaration and the Bosporus Statement giving birth to the organization.
The BSEC works building multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering interaction and harmony among its member states. The 11 members of the organization are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Although the organization has as one of its goals the development of “good neighborly relations in the Black Sea Region,” Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to impose an illegal blockade on the Republic of Armenia.