The Republic of Moldova supports the idea of creating a joint database of potential investors and exporters from the member countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation to facilitate data exchange and investment attraction, as well as several joint initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises. The statement was made by Andrian Candu, Speaker of the Parliament, at the Summit of the Presidents of Parliaments of the BSEC Member States (PABSEC), the highest forum organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the PABSEC.

"We are very interested in strengthening direct business cooperation and facilitating public-private partnerships in order to adequately respond to the needs of regional challenges and to offer the private sector business opportunities in the Black Sea region," said Andrian Candu.

According to the speaker, the Black Sea region is becoming increasingly important for Europe, the US and other major powers, and the parliaments of the PABSEC have a special role to play in strengthening the legislative framework for economic growth and social inclusion, developing new and renewable energy sources, as well as ensuring peace and security in the Black Sea region.

"25 years ago, BSEC was one of the few post-Soviet initiatives that managed to unite the Black Sea states in a regional community, with the support of the parliaments, which provided the legal basis for economic cooperation, trade, social and political relations between member countries, it was possible for the BSEC to become a proactive and constructive actor in the region, "the Speaker said.

Andrian Candu referred to the challenges facing countries in the Black Sea region, such as political and economic uncertainty, terrorism, state tensions, frozen conflicts and more recent active conflicts. According to the Speaker, local conflicts are a serious source of regional instability.

"The political, social and economic costs of separatist conflicts in the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine have seriously increased the difficulties inherent in the decades of transition. Regardless of the aspirations of our states in terms of economic development, we have no choice but to interact and to cooperate more, to make mutually beneficial business and to discover new opportunities that this region can offer us, "said the President of Parliament.

Andrian Candu recalled that by signing the Association Agreement with the EU, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Zone, the three countries reconfirmed their political and economic future as European integration.

"We want our efforts to contribute to the restoration of the Black Sea region as an area of peace, cooperation and development," the President of Parliament said.

At the Istanbul Summit, Andrian Candu, Parliament Speaker, will meet with several officials attending the event.

The Republic of Moldova cooperates with several regional programs and initiatives in areas such as economy, trade, transport, energy, environment, tourism, education, science and technology. Only in 2017, the trade volume of the Republic of Moldova with BSEC member countries constituted 3.4 billion US dollars or about 47% of the total trade volume.

This year, PABSEC marks 25 years since its inception. PABSEC was created in 1993 in Istanbul by representatives of parliaments from 9 countries - Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. PABSEC is an important platform for strengthening regional cooperation and harnessing the economic potential between Member States.