Chairman-in-Office
Secretary General
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization which is focused on multilateral economic and political initiatives and on fostering cooperation, peace and stability in the Black Sea Region. There are 12 permanent members of BSEC, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The headquarters (HQ) of the organization – the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) – is established in Istanbul since March 1994. The current Chairman-In-Office is Bulgaria (01/01/19-30/06/19) followed by Georgia (01/07/19-31/12/19).
Agenda
Topic Area A: Sustainable and Clean Energy; Enhancing energy development, security and competitiveness in the Black Sea region.
Topic Area B: Stabilizing the banking and finance environment in the Black Sea region.
Member States
Albania | Misa, Panajota
Armenia | Diamanti, Stella
Azerbaijan | Kalogirou, Vasiliki
Georgia | Toskou, Aikaterini
Greece | Pantelakos, Alexandros
Moldova | Afentoulidi, Michaela-Pavlina
Romania | Fotaki, Georgia
Russian Federation | Ioannidis, Andreas
Serbia | Liakou, Anastasia
Turkey | Chrysanthakopoulou, Maria
Ukraine | Sevdali, Georgia
Observers
China | Katsoufi, Stefania
European Union | Lagouros, Ioannis
USA | Theofanous, Paraskevi
More on the organization
The Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) is a regional intergovernmental organization established on 25 June 1992 by the Summit Declaration and the Bosphorus Statement, in Istanbul, Turkey. Some years later, in 1 May 1999, the BSEC Charter, adopted in Yalta in 1998, came into force making BSEC an organization with legal identity. Today, BSEC has 12 Member States, namely Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The mission of BSEC incorporates many different aspects with regards to building trust and co-operation among the Member States. In detail, the organization aspires the construction of good neighborliness and friendship among the Member States in areas of economic co-operation, such as business and enterprises, as well as the enhancement of respect, dialogue and collaboration.
Additionally, regarding the main structures of BSEC, the organization is met into different formations. These are: The Summit Meetings, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministerial Meetings in different BSEC areas of co-operation, Committee of Senior Officials (CSO), Subsidiary Organs, and the Permanent International Secretariat.
Specifically, the body that will be simulated for the purposes of Rhodes Model Regional Co-operation 2019 is the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The aforementioned Council is considered the decision-making organ of BSEC. The Council has the following items into its mandate: the subjects relating to the functioning of BSEC and the capabilities of the organization, as well as the discussions upon significant topic areas.
Finally, another important function of the organization is the Chairmanship-in-Office. The Chairmanship changes every six months. On the 1st of January 2019, Bulgaria assumed the Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (1 January – 30 June 2019) and it is going to be followed by Georgia (1 July – 31 December 2019).
