Message from the Secretary General

Dear Friends, The Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) was founded in 1993 and since its establishment it has witnessed both accomplishments and difficult moments. We stood together over the years and tried to overcome them.

The PABSEC brings together, nowadays, 81 MPs from thirteen Member States of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, revealing itself as a unique political forum of inter-parliamentary dialogue in the Black Sea Region.

In the PABSEC there are countries with different levels of development and in this regard, one of our main tasks is to achieve a high level of regional economic cooperation and to transform the Black Sea Region in a zone of economic prosperity, peace and stability.

The Black Sea Region is a bridge between Asia and Europe, being situated at the crossroads of major transportation routes from the East to the West (Silk Road) and from the North to the South (Viking Road). At the same time, our region is rich in energy resources and represents a key energy hub through which oil and gas, from the Caspian Region and the Central Asia are delivered to the world markets.

The main wealth of our area is not its geographical position and not richness in energy but represented by the different people living here, having various cultures, religions and traditions and we are proud to live in such a multicultural region. Hence, our main aim is to bring security, stability and prosperity for the people of the region.

Unfortunately, there are serious problems and conflicts in the Black Sea Region, which negatively affects the economic development of the region and do not allow using the high potential of multilateral economic cooperation. The parliamentarians must join their efforts to put an end to the existing conflicts as soon as possible and alleviate the suffering of innocent people, based on the international law, within the framework of the resolutions and decisions of the UN and other international organizations.

We are all one family and we have to make our contribution to build a common future where there should be no place for hostilities. History has shown that confrontation leads to nothing positive, and in this respect, the Black Sea should not divide, but unite us all.