ISTANBUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the member states of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on Monday called for efforts to better tap the potential of the region to boost trade and investment.
"It is a fact that the trade and investments among the member countries of the organization are far below the potential," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the 25th anniversary summit of the group in Istanbul.
"We should look for opportunities to better tap the potential of this vast geography," he remarked, calling for trade and investment to be developed on a healthy ground in the context of peace and stability.
"Of course there may be some political, even military, problems among the countries of the region," the president added. "How far can we keep the BSEC from these problems so we can make it work that efficiently?"
The Turkish leader also urged the member states to develop new projects to create a transportation network in the region while facilitating visa applications so as to further develop tourism and trade.
For his part, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called for BSEC members to ease trade procedures in a move to deepen regional cooperation and boost the trade volume.
The BSEC, founded in 1992, has a total population of 335 million and an annual intra-trade volume of 187 billion U.S. dollars, according to data released by the organization.
Referring to the fact that member states have cooperation in a wide range of fields, including plane building, information technology, machinery manufacturing and finance, Medvedev stressed that "None is enough. We should create ambitious targets to further develop trade and investment among the member states."
Other participants at the summit laid emphasis on cooperation in the field of energy, as the region has become a transport hub for oil and natural gas supplies moving into Europe.
After the Persian Gulf region, the Black Sea region is the second largest source of oil and natural gas in the world, which also boasts rich reserves of minerals, metals and other natural resources.
The BSEC has 12 member states, namely Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia.
