At the invitation of State Secretary for Security Policy Péter Sztáray, Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)Michael B. Christides visited Budapest and participated at the Conference on Regional Economic Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe.

In his opening speech, Péter Sztáray emphasized that, as a medium-sized country, Hungary's involvement in various forms of regional cooperation was crucial following the fall of Communism and the regime change. The Visegrad Cooperation or the Central European Free Trade Agreement had resulted in excellent economic cooperation, which had brought stability to the region and also facilitated the process of joining the European Union. It is in Hungary's primary interest to become a member and active partner of as many similar organizations as possible.

At the conference, the International Center for Black Sea Studies and the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 25, 2019 in Budapest.

During the bilateral discussions, the parties focused on the relations between the Black Sea region and the Danube region, touching in particular the possibilities for further cooperation between Hungary and the BSEC.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation was established in 1992 to promote economic development in the region. The BSEC operates with 12 member states. Hungary joined it as a sectoral dialogue partner in 1999, and has been participating in the work of BSEC as observer – similarly to the other V4 countries – since July 1, 2018. Hungary wishes to cooperate with the organization in the fields of energy, water and science diplomacy and tourism.

(MTI)