PABSEC General Assembly discusses tourism in Black Sea region

The 41^st Plenary Session of the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) has opened in Sofia. The event is also attended by a delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a Sofia-based Ukrinform reporter said.

"I believe that this meeting will give a new impetus to the development of Black Sea cooperation. The role of the PABSEC in strengthening the economic relations of the region is increasing. The PABSEC in recent years has become a forum for contacts on a number of important issues of regional cooperation," Chairman of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Bulgaria Mihail Mikov said in his opening of remarks.

He noted that the Black Sea is more frequently described as one of the most important European regions for economic cooperation of the 21st century. According to him, the PABSEC continues to expand its activities. "During the Bulgarian Chairmanship new steps have been taken in this direction: aspects of cooperation in the field of search and rescue in the Black Sea were discussed, academic cooperation between the PABSEC member countries was expanded," Mikov noted.

At this plenary session, the participants proposed to discuss important for all the countries of the region theme, entitled "Tourism as an important factor of economic growth and cooperation in the BSEC region." This discussion will end Bulgaria's six-month BSEC presidency.

The 41st Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly of the PABSEC is attended by Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Jean-Claude Mignon, representatives of the European Parliament and other European institutions.

The 41st Plenary Session of the General Assembly of the PABSEC will last until July 11. On the eve of the meeting, Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria Mykola Baltazhy met a delegation of the Verkhovna Rada. He informed them of the political and economic situation in Bulgaria, emphasized the development of the tourism industry, which generates more than 11% of Bulgaria's GDP.

Adapted from UKRINFORM