The stability, security and economic activity of the Black Sea region is a priority for Bulgaria, said Speaker of Parliament Dimitar Glavchev at the meeting with Asaf Hajiyev, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC). Head of the Bulgarian delegation to the Assembly Peter Kunev also attended the meeting.

Dimitar Glavchev mentioned the active work and significance of the Assembly for seeking solutions to guarantee security and economic development of the region. He emphasised the role of the organisation for deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation between member states and seeking opportunities to expand the activity of PABSEC.

The Speaker of the National Assembly said that one of the priorities of the first Bulgarian EU presidency would be to find a sustainable approach to the Danube and the Black Sea region. Dimitar Glavchev thanked PABSEC Secretary General for accepting the invitation to be a keynote speaker at the Inter-parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, organised during the Bulgarian presidency at the beginning of 2018.

PABSEC Secretary General Asaf Hajiyev mentioned the active work of the Bulgarian delegation at the Assembly. Bulgaria is an important and reliable partner of special significance to us, he said. Asaf Hajiyev thanked for the support of the Bulgarian MPs in the discussion of a number of issues at PABSEC events.

Asaf Hajiyev told the Speaker of Parliament about the efforts made by PABSEC International Secretariat to prepare the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Assembly in 2018.

PABSEC has 12 member states: Azerbaijan, Albania Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine.