Istanbul (IINA) : The 25th Anniversary Summit of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) launched in Istanbul on Monday, Turkish daily newspaper Yeni Şafak reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the 12-member group and discussed economic cooperation and institutional reforms.

Stating that Turkey had recently come a long way in terms of lifting visa requirements between countries, Erdoğan said: “As Turkey, we paved the way for passport-free travel, such as in Georgia. We hope our cooperation under this roof sets an example for other international countries.”

“We aim to catch a good synergy with the organization on sustainable development, which has been on the agenda of the United Nations for 15 years. We discussed the ways of our commercial relations in this wide geography driven by the Black Sea. As the rotating chair of BSEC, we try to act in a fair, objective and balanced way,” he said.

BSEC was established as a model of multilateral political and economic initiative with the signing of the Istanbul Summit Declaration and the Bosporus Statement by the heads of state and government of the countries in the region on June 1992.

The group has 12 members, namely Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Turkey has been holding the rotating chairmanship of BSEC since the beginning of 2017.

The organization aims to enhance interaction and harmony among its members, as well as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity, encouraging friendly and good-neighborly relations in the Black Sea region.