News and Events
BSEC Business Council
Business Roundtable & 64th Regular Meeting 
BSEC BC Business Roundtable & 64th Regular Meeting held hybrid at DEİK - Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye headquarters. After the opening speech of BSEC BC Chairman-in-0ffice Mr. Selçuk Akat, BSEC Executive Manager Mr. Kenan Murtuzov made a speech informing about the recent affairs of BSEC. Roundtable moderated by Mr. Selçuk Akat was under the title "Open Discussion for the Future of Economic Cooperation in Black Sea Region". Mr. Hakkı Karataş, Ph.D. Chief Economist of DEİK – Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye, made an informative presentation about "Macroeconomic Outlook in the World and in BSEC Countries". Many thanks to our physical and online attendees. .png)
Special thanks to Mrs. Selin Sümer Tunçay (Business Council Coordinator, DEİK), Mrs. Gabriela Dimitrova (Director, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Mr. Charis Alexopoulos (Chairman of the National Committee for the Representation of the Hellenic Republic at the BSEC BC), Mr. Stefan Voinea (Foreign Affairs Department Deputy Director, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania), Mr. Gizo Biblaia (Vice Consul, Consulate General of Georgia in İstanbul), Mr. Vladimir Emmer (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation), Mr. Ventseslav Petrov (Commercial Counsellor, Consulate General of Bulgaria in İstanbul) and Mr. Yusuf Kaya (General Manager, Interwo – Türkiye) for their valuable contributions.
Webinar on Innovation & Start-ups
Our webinar on Innovation & Start-ups was held on 29th November 2023, online. Welcoming address were made by Mr. Selçuk Akat, Chairman-in-office of the BSEC BC. In his speech he mentioned “Recently, Türkiye has considerable experience and know-how in promoting start-ups to boost its economy. There is strong public support for start-up ecosystem in Türkiye through a variety of programs and policies has directly led to success.
Results are promising; today there are six unicorns, including two decacorns originating from Türkiye.
This puts Türkiye among the countries with most vibrant technology entrepreneurship environments.
Similar to Türkiye, the BSEC region has significant untapped potential in terms of technological entrepreneurship. 
Promoting start-up ecosystem development could help our region better harness the power of its human capital as well as to achieve technological advancements to drive economic growth, create new jobs. Additionally, promoting technological entrepreneurship will empower the youth and provide them with opportunities to contribute to their country’s economic development, ultimately creating a positive impact on society. We can work on a regional entrepreneurship ecosystem that enables the development of qualified human resources, concentrates venture capital, and protects intellectual property. Such moves can put BSEC on the global map of innovation centers.
Entire business sectors of the region will benefit from such a potential progress.”
Moderator of the webinar was Mr. İlker Sözdinler, Founder & CEO of United Payment Inc. First presentation was made by Mr. Serkan Sevim, Founder & CEO of Medianova.com.
His presentation topic was; Digital Economy, Infrastructure and Entrepreneurship
in the Information Age. As a conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Sevim emphasized that “Act as a Region, work together. Invest in Distributed Digital Infrastructure. Prioritize regional startups and technology. Invest in Education.”
The second presentation was made by Mr. Ahmet Kerim Nalbant, Manager of Cube Incubation Center for Deep Tech Entrepreneurs, Teknopark Istanbul. His presentation topic was;
Deep Tech Enterpreunership: Case Of Cube Incubation. Mr. Nalbant told that “during the Acceleration Program, entrepreneurs can benefit from all opportunities offered by Cube Incubation. Besides all incentives and supports, use of assembly and electronics workshops and laboratories at the incubation center is also provided.”
BSEC Business Council realized the first event of the Turkish chairmanship-in-office:
The Logistical Cooperation Workshop
The event was organized with the cooperation of BSEC BC, DEİK – Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye and UTİKAD- International Transport and Logistics Service Producers Association.
Opening remarks were made by;
Mr. Selçuk Akat, Chairman-in-Office of the BSEC BC
Mrs. Ayşem Ulusoy, Chairperson of UTİKAD & DEİK Logistics BC
Mr. Turgut Erkeskin, President of FIATA
Amb. Lazar Comanescu, Secretary General of BSEC
Moderator of the first panel session "Regional Logistics Cooperation within the Scope of the Middle Corridor." was Sinan Oğuz, Head of Logistics and Combined Transportation Department, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Republic of Türkiye.
Panelists of the first session were:
Mr. Alper ÖZEL, Chief of UND Executive Board
Mr. Naci ÖZÇELİK, Head of Cargo Department TCDD Transportation
Ms. Seda SEVGİ, Deputy Head of OECD İstanbul Centre
Mr. Aydın ERDEMİR, TÜRKLİM Chairman
Mr. Adnan KARAİSMAİLOĞLU, Senior VP Cargo Business Development & Organization, Turkish Cargo
Moderator of the second panel session “Digitalization and seamless border crossings: smart connectivity” was Mr. Ozan Acar the Chairman of Turkish E-commerce Council & the Executive Committee Member of Trendyol.
Panelists of the second session were:
Mr. Erman Ereke, the General Delegate in Istanbul of IRU.
Mr. Mehmet Uylukçu, Secretary General of BSEC-URTA Union of Road Transport Associations in BSEC Region.
Mr. Serdar Ayırtman, member of the board of UTİKAD.
Mr. Zeki Demirağ, the Product Manager of PSA BDP Türkiye, Railway Intermodal and Port+.
Mr. İbrahim Ercankal, the CEO of Lojipark.
Mrs. Iuliana BADEA, the Secretary General of the Freight Forwarders Association Of Romania (USER), joined the workshop online and presented the topic, "Constanța Port: An Essential Intermodal Hub in the Black Sea Region."
Special Board Meeting of BSEC Business Council
held online on 10th August
Within the scope of the Turkish BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office, the Special Board Meeting of BSEC Business Council held online on 10th of August 2023. Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Türkiye attended the meeting.
Mr. Selçuk Akat, 64th Term Chairman-in-office of BSEC Business Council opened the meeting. He thanked Amb. Lazar Comanescu for his support to the business council since its inception. He also extended gratitude to Amb. Dimitrios Rallis for attending the meeting and for giving a motivational welcoming address. He expressed gratitude to all the countries of the Black Sea region for their collaboration with Türkiye after the devastating earthquake in February. He stated that he is planning a very active term for the board until the end of the year. He also introduced Mr. Kemal Kaptaner, the newly-appointed Secretary General of BSEC BC.
In his welcoming address H.E. Ambassador Dimitrios Rallis, Deputy Secretary General of the BSEC, assured that BSEC PERMIS will continue offering its full support for making the Business Council a success. He also informed that the BSEC PERMIS Secretary General Ambassador Comanescu has already decided to host temporarily at the BSEC PERMIS premises in Istanbul a technical office of the BSEC BC for the term of the Turkish Chairmanship.
In the second part of the meeting, Mr. Selçuk Akat presented a brief outlook of the trade and economic relations of the BSEC countries. In the context of the rising potential of the BSEC region, Mr. Akat shared that 20 years ago, the share of BSEC countries in global trade was just 3.2 per cent. He pointed out that it reached to 5.1 per cent in 2008 before the global financial crises and then went down recently to 4.4. per cent.
For the planned events of BSEC BC for the coming months, he briefly presented the 3 major events.
- Workshop for businesspeople on the strengthening of logistical cooperation in the wider BSEC region (October 2023)
- Workshop for businesspeople on the financing opportunities provided by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (November 2023)
- BSEC Business Forum (December 2023)
All participants shared their comments and views on the planned events.
The 63rd regular meeting of the Board of Directors
of the BSEC Business Council took place virtually
The 63rd Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the BSEC Business Council (BoD of the BSEC BC) was held online on 1 June 2023, hosted by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The main topic on the Agenda was “Green transformation – the role of business associations and the economy of BSEC countries in the green transformation”.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Mihailo VESOVIĆ, Director of Sector for Strategic Analyses, Services and Internationalization, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Chairman-inOffice of the BSEC BC. In his opening address, Ambassador Lazăr COMĂNESCU, Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS, welcomed the resumption of the BSEC BC meetings and emphasized that issues related to the statutory documents, criteria for the affiliated business organizations, organizational aspects of the functioning of the Secretariat/liaison office, website and etc. needs to be urgently dealt with so that Business Council restore its image and capacity as a reliable platform of cooperation for the regional business entities.
The Secretary General also stressed that the Business Council may always count on BSEC PERMIS’s support in its endeavors aiming at strengthening the BSEC Business Council and streamlining of its activities.
Ambassador COMĂNESCU thanked the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for holding this meeting after almost three years from the last meeting of the BSEC Business Council Board of Directors, and expressed his confidence that the dynamism brought up by the Serbian Chairmanship will be further continued under the forthcoming Turkish Chairmanship.
The 62nd regular meeting of the Board of Directors.png)
of the BSEC Business Council took place virtually
Bucharest, 16 December 2020: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, which have been holding, for the sixth time, the Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization Business Council (BSEC BC), had organized the 62nd regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the BSEC Business Council.
The initial mandate of CCIR (January-June 2020) should have covered a six-month period, but due to the pandemic it was exceptionally extended until the end of the year.
The event was opened by three distinguished speakers: Mr. Mihai Daraban, Chairman-in-Office of the BSEC Business Council (January-December 2020), Mr. Michael B. Christides, Ambassador, Secretary General, BSEC PERMIS and Mr. Alexandru Ene, Chairman of the BSEC Senior Officials Committee/ Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania.
After the welcoming speeches, Mr. Eduard Costin, General Secretary of the BSEC Business Council (January-December 2020) presented the report of activities undertaken under the CCIR CiO of the BSEC BC. Afterwards, the members of the Board had the opportunity to discuss openly about the topics on the meeting agenda.
On the occasion of this meeting the representative of the Economic Chamber of Macedonia was warmly welcomed in the BSEC Business Council as a result of the Republic of North Macedonia’s accession to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, while the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tirana was congratulated for taking over the Chairmanship-in-Office of the BSEC Business Council, starting with January 1, 2021.
Representatives of the BSEC Business Council, from the following countries, attended the 62nd regular meeting of the Board of Directors: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine.
The opportunities of circular economy for SMEs in the Black Sea region
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), which holds in the first semester of 2020 the Chairmanship-in-Office of the Business Council of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC BC), together with the Institute of Circular Economy and Environment "Ernest Lupan", and in partnership with the European Commission Representation in Romania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federation of Associations for Energy Utility Companies and the Enel Group, are pleased to invite you to attend the conference entitled The Opportunities of circular economy for SMEs in the Black Sea region, which will take place in digital format, on the MyConnector platform, on June 24, 2020.
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, we aim to address both the provisions of the European Green Deal and the effects of COVID-19 on the economies of the EU and the wider Black Sea region in the ecological transition.
The main goal of this webinar is to raise awareness about the efficient use of resources by ensuring a soft transition to a circular and green economy. It also aims to identify opportunities arising from the application of the principles of the circular economy with impact on increasing competitiveness, innovation and technological progress among entrepreneurs in the wider Black Sea region.
In the context of the negotiation of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021 - 2027 and the launch of ”The European Green Deal Investment Plan and Just Transition Mechanism”, we also consider discussing the topics on the financial instruments for the transition to a climate-neutral and competitive economy, as well as the way companies can implement the new economic model - the circular one.
Target groups: Economic operators from both BSEC and EU Members States, which operate in high-emission sectors such as cement production, iron and steel, textile, energy, agriculture and transport, representatives of the 12 BSEC BC Chambers of Commerce and representatives of the Romanian county chambers.
Participation in the event is free of charge, but the access will be possible based on the confirmation e-mail you will receive after the online registration, which is mandatory.
The deadline for registration is June 22.
For further information about the event agenda, confirmed speakers and other relevant details, please access this link.
The event will be held in English.
Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS on official visit to CCIR - the Chairmanship-in-Office to BSEC BC 
Bucharest, February 6, 2020: The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), Mr. Mihai Daraban, received the official visit of Mr. Michael B. Christides, Ambassador, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC).
The official meeting took place at the CCIR headquarters in Bucharest, and was organized in the context of a new 6 months mandate of Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office to the BSEC. In the meantime, President of CCIR, Mr. Mihai Daraban, was appointed Chairman-in-Office of the BSEC Business Council (BSEC-BC).
Mr. Mihai Daraban, President of CCIR, declared: CCIR is willing to contribute to the enhancement of the cohesion inside BSEC BC, by stimulating the connectivity of the Black Sea region with the European Union. After taking over the Chairmanship-in-Office of BSEC BC, CCIR took the initiative to tackle major issues both for the EU and BSEC countries, such as the European Green Deal, the opportunities of circular economy for SMEs, decreasing pollution issue, digitalization and energy security.
At the same time, President Daraban pointed out: … in the frame of BSEC BC, CCIR’s aim is to approach pragmatic issues, with large positive impact on business community in the Black Sea region. In this respect, for instance, we will focus on a large lobby action, aiming to obtain preferential tariffs for the shipping operators originating from the Black Sea Region, transiting various strategic international naval straits.
Mr. Michael B. Christides, stressed that in the last period of time, general tendencies of the BSEC members were of reluctance and lack of interest, caused by recent political disputes in the region, which led to less involvement in potential projects.
Given this context, His Excellency added: …in this unstable environment, a convergence of the economic interests of the member states, induced consistently by the Business Council currently under the Romanian Chairmanship of the CCIR, could lead to a revival of the spirit of cohesion between the important actors within the organization.
Increasing the performance of the Romanian companies in the extended Black Sea region
/23.01.2020/ Ploiești, Romania
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), together with the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kaizen Institute, organized today, January 23rd, the workshop „Increasing the performance of the Romanian companies in the expanded Black Sea region”, an event organized in the margins of the CCIR presidency at the Business Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC – BC).
In the first semester of 2020, Romania will ensure the Presidency-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), under the motto “Bridging Shores through Enhancing Cohesion”, this being the sixth mandate assumed by our country since setting up of the Organization. Also, during this period, CCIR will hold the rotating Presidency of the Business Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC – BC).
The priority of Romania’s mandate is to continue the development of regional intergovernmental economic cooperation within the BSEC, with an emphasis on the development of the following areas: transport, energy, environment, crime fighting and organization of projects in accordance with existing financial resources.
Mr. Eduard Costin, Director of the External Relations of CCIR, transmitted the message to President Mihai Daraban: “Out of the 12 member states of the BSEC, only three are members of the European Community, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. It is necessary to eliminate the gaps in relation to the EU and to create a framework to the gradual compatibility of the BSEC and the members of this organization with the European Community. The current figures are relevant evidence of these gaps. Thus, comparing the average of the gross domestic product per capita of the EU, of 28,280 Euros, at the level of 2018, with that of the BSEC states, which in the same period registered 7,114 Euros, we find an alarming difference. The CCIR initiative to organize this event, in partnership with the Kaizen Institute Romania, comes to the support of the entrepreneurs from these countries by exposing ways to make efficient and modernize the economic activity and implicitly to increase the capacity of the economic operators to access the external markets”.
“Today’s event is particularly important for both the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Prahova and the Prahova County – one of Romania’s most economically powerful counties, because it represents an excellent dialogue framework on current topics of interest for the representatives of the business environment, from two points of view. The first is related to the fact that the Black Sea Region is of great strategic importance due to the very rich natural resources, especially oil and gas, and Prahova, as it is known, is the head of the oil sector in Romania. The second point of view is related to the need for innovation, of continuous improvement, at the level of the Prahovan and Romanian companies”, declared the president of the CCI Prahova, Mr. Aurelian Gogulescu.
Mr. Julien Bratu, CEO of Kaizen Institute Romania, gave a presentation on the measures that can be applied in order to increase the performance of the Romanian companies.
Meeting of the Board of Directors of BSEC BC and CSR conference were held in Thessaloniki /22.11.2019/ 
The 61st meeting of the Board of Directors of the Business Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation/BSEC BC/ was held in Thessaloniki at the end of November 2019.
The meeting was hosted by the CCI of Thessaloniki, under the rotating presidency of the Organization-Greece manages BSEC BC in July-December 2019.
Karylos Aleksopoulos, the rotating chairman of BSEC BC and a member of the board of the CCI Thessaloniki welcomed the participants and expressed his content with the consistent work of most of the members. The following topics were on the agenda of the meeting: Rules and principles for association to the organization, initiatives to promote women's entrepreneurship in the region, the presence of the Business Council on the Internet and organizational issues.
The BSEC BC website, which contains basic information about the Business Council-goals, news, members, partners, was presented.
After the meeting of the Board a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility was held. Examples of good practices in this field were presented and discussed.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the 60th regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Business Council. Representatives of BCCI’s partners from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Romania, Russia and Ukraine took part in the discussion.
BCCI presented a report on the activities completed by the BSEC Business Council since the beginning of the year, as well as information about several upcoming events until the end of the 6-month Chairmanship-in-Office. A new website of the organization is being developed in order to facilitate communication with partners. The possibility for companies with serious interests in the region to join the BSEC Business Council as associated members was also discussed. Participation in various joint projects was another topic of discussion.
The biggest event held within the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the BSEC Business Council was the Balkan Wine Competition and Festival, which this year included representatives of the Black sea countries.
The priorities of the next BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office were presented by Charilaos Alexopoulos, representative of Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Greece will assume the rotating Chairmanship-in-Office of the organization in the period July – December 2019.
Tsvetan Simeonov opened the first meeting of the calendar of events of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Business Council. Bulgaria holds the Chairmanship-in-Office of the organization for the period 1 January – 30 June 2019. “The potential for development of cooperation in the region is great. We hope that the European institutions will be more interested in the Black Sea region and that there will be opportunities for joint projects and development of all possible perspectives”, Simeonov said.
The President of BCCI presented the priorities of the BSEC Business Council: blue economy, connectivity /transport, energy, infrastructure, culture, wine and traditions/, digitalization. He emphasized the business events laid down in the programme of the Chairmanship-in-Office.
The Ambassador of Romania to Bulgaria H.E. Mr. Ion Galea, the Ambassador of Georgia H.E. Mrs. Tamuna Liluashvili, representatives of the embassies of the BSEC countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine; Mrs. Tonka Kostadinova, Third Secretary at “Southeastern Europe” Directorate of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Teimuraz Antelava, Legal Advisor at the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) in Istanbul took part in the event.
Tonka Kostadinova presented the priorities of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the organization. Under the motto “Sea of Opportunities”, the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of BSEC will strive to give new impetus to the multilateral economic cooperation in the Black Sea region and will seek to further enhance the effectiveness of BSEC through emphasizing the project-oriented cooperation. She pointed out that during the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office our country will work to deepen the cooperation between the BSEC member countries in all spheres of mutual interest. Emphasize will be placed on several priority axes, including: transport - development of road and maritime infrastructure in the Black Sea region; culture – joint initiatives and local projects; and environmental protection - cooperation between BSEC and the EU in the framework of the Integrated Maritime Policy. As one of the three EU member states in the Black Sea region, Bulgaria will continue its efforts to further develop the productive interaction between BSCE and EU.
The Calendar of events of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office was presented with emphasis on a number of high-level events in different areas of cooperation: the upcoming meeting of the Ministers in charge of culture of the BSEC member states in May in Plovdiv; informal meeting of the Ministers of Transport during an international events in Leipzig, Germany in May, and a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC member states and the EU in June.