Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On 25 June 1992, the Heads of State and Government of eleven countries signed in Istanbul the Summit Declaration and the Bosphorus Statement giving birth to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). It came into existence as a unique and promising model of multilateral political and economic initiative aimed at fostering interaction and harmony among the Member States, as well as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity encouraging friendly and good-neighbourly relations in the Black Sea region.

With the entry into force of its Charter on 1 May 1999, BSEC acquired international legal identity and was transformed into a full-fledged regional economic organization: Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. With the accession of Serbia and Montenegro in April 2004, the Organization’s Member States increased to twelve.

The BSEC Headquarters - the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) - was established in March 1994 in Istanbul.

It is related to the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, an international financial institution based in Thessaloniki.

[edit] Membership

██ BSEC member states ██ BSEC observer states

Founding members are:

Later members:

Serbia

Cyprus and Montenegro applied to join, but were denied for now due to rivalry between Greece and Turkey, who vetoed Montenegro and Cyprus respectively.[1]