Summit of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the BSEC Member States, Ankara, 4 May 2023
On 4 May 2023, in Ankara, was held the Summit of Speakers of the Parliaments of the BSEC Member States, dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), upon the invitation of H.E. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sentop, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
At the opening ceremony, H.E. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sentop, PABSEC President, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, addressed the participants.
The Summit was attended by Speakers from Armenia, North Macedonia, Serbia, by the First Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and by heads of the PABSEC national delegations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
The participants made presentations on the main topic “30th Anniversary of the PABSEC: Common Geography, Common Vision, Common Future".
An exchange of views took place regarding the prospects for further strengthening the cooperation and expanding the scope of the activities of the parliaments of the Black Sea Region. It was emphasized that the expansion of cooperation and good neighbourly relations is a necessary condition for achieving peace, stability, prosperity and for solving topical problems in the region and beyond it.
It was recognized that the BSEC Region faces threats that need to be addressed and it was emphasized that the effective cooperation among the parliaments of the BSEC Member States, is a viable means of increasing the effectiveness of the work of the Assembly.
The Speakers of the Parliaments of the BSEC Member States were awarded the PABSEC Commemorative Medals: H.E. Mr. Alen Simonyan, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Armenia, H.E. Mr. Talat Xhaferi, President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, H.E. Mr. Vladimir Orlic, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and H.E. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sentop, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
Within the framework of the Summit, bilateral meetings of the Speakers of the parliaments participating in the Anniversary Summit were held.
The participants congratulated the parliaments of the BSEC Member States on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary and expressed their gratitude to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, for the excellent organization of the Anniversary Summit.