ISTANBUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of littoral states of the Black Sea on Monday urged more joint efforts to cope with the economic challenges emerging from an evolving regional and international environment of a globalized world.
The heads of state and government in the Black Sea region, while expressing their desire to turn the region into a zone of "peace, stability and prosperity," are seeking cooperation with a more project- and result-oriented approach in more than a dozen fields, including energy and transport.
In a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the 25th anniversary summit of the regional grouping in Istanbul, known as the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the leaders said they support efforts to provide "additional, safe and secure" maritime transport options to boost trade, economic cooperation and tourism in the region.
They also call for effective implementation of concrete joint transport infrastructure projects like the Black Sea Ring Highway and the Motorways of the Sea.
As to the current migration and refugee crisis, the leaders voiced their commitment to displaying "a shared sense of solidarity and cooperation in addressing the needs and problems of internally displaced persons, migrants and refugees in the BSEC region and beyond."
"We stress the urgent need to address the root causes of these large flows of people," added the leaders.
Turkey is focusing on strengthening partnership among the Black Sea countries for sustainable development, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference called at the end of the summit.
"While billions of people are living in poverty, everybody should exert more effort for the sustainability of development," said Erdogan, whose country chairs BSEC now.
BSEC, founded in 1992 and joined by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia, 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 group.
