Baku, January 31, AZERTAC

Being a member of important international organizations, Azerbaijan has a say in these organizations, creates opportunities for joint cooperation, and acts in the direction of its national interests. One of such organizations is the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), of which the country is a founding member. Established on June 25, 1992, in Istanbul, by the signing of the Summit Declaration by the Heads of State and Government of Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine, the organization creates opportunities for cooperation in the economy, health, ecology, tourism, education, customs, and other spheres.

We present an exclusive interview of AZERTAC with Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Ambassador Lazar Comanescu.

- What are the key areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation?

- Allow me first to welcome and appreciate the interest AZERTAC is showing towards the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Allow me also to highlight from the very outset that Azerbaijan - a founding member of BSEC - has been a most active and valuable contributor to the activities of this Organization. I am particularly pleased to be able to say that all the more so as Azerbaijan holds the BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) for the first semester of 2025, a period in which I am confident our Organization will make further advances in its endeavor towards enhancing the economic cooperation in the BSEC region.

Now, coming back to your question, but still before trying to answer it, let me say a couple of words on BSEC. It was established as a regional economic Organization aiming at fostering economic cooperation among its Member States and contributing there through to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Today BSEC serves as a forum for multilateral cooperation within a wide range of areas providing the opportunity for its Member States to interact on various topics through its more than 20 thematic working groups that regularly meet to address issues of mutual interest. BSEC also serves as a bridge between Europe and Asia, covering a vast region, thus playing not only its intra-BSEC role but also connects various regions.

I am delighted to say that Azerbaijan has been active in almost all BSEC areas of cooperation. Currently, the Republic of Azerbaijan is a country coordinator of the three BSEC Working Groups, namely on Good Governance and Institutional Renewal, on Energy, and on Combating Crime, and until recently successfully coordinated the Working Groups on Culture and on Cooperation in Tourism. Azerbaijan has also been very active in areas such as transport, trade and economic development.

- How has Azerbaijan contributed to the development of BSEC since joining the Organization?

-Being one of the founding Member States of BSEC, Azerbaijan initiated and participated in various initiatives within the Organization aiming at fostering regional cooperation. As country coordinator of various BSEC working groups Azerbaijan brought to the attention of the Organization issues of shared interest and constructively contributed to BSEC and supported its activities. Furthermore, through an active promotion of East-West and North-South corridors Azerbaijan contributed to enhancing the region’s transit potential with a positive impact on the development of trade among BSEC countries. Azerbaijan has been an essential partner in ensuring energy security of the region through diverse infrastructures together with some other BSEC Member States. All these are only few examples of Azerbaijan’s engagement in and full support to the BSEC activities and regional development, and we hope for more to come in future.

- What role does Azerbaijan play in promoting regional economic integration within the Black Sea region through BSEC?

- BSEC Charter defines developing and diversifying bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region and improving business environment therein among the key objectives of the Organization. The Charter also enumerates the areas of cooperation starting with trade and economic development, banking and finance, communication, energy, transport, agriculture, environment, tourism, etc. Over the time, important initiatives and projects have been promoted and implemented in all these areas with contributions by all Member States. And, as I have already said, the Republic of Azerbaijan has been a most active actor in this respect contributing significantly to the enhancement of cooperation and overall development in the region. One recent and most relevant example is the contribution to the elaboration and adoption by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, on 15 December 2023, of the “BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards a sustainable future of the wider Black Sea area”, followed by the establishment in June 2024 of the Mechanism for the Implementation of this Economic Agenda, which is in fact BSEC’s strategic framework document that defines priorities for the cooperation within the BSEC region in the following decade. Another example is the contribution of Azerbaijan to the elaboration of a draft BSEC Trade Facilitation Strategy which I hope will be adopted during Azerbaijan’s BSEC CiO.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s close economic relations with many BSEC Member States offers additional opportunities for an active participation in the processes within the Organization. Therefore, we look with optimism to the current Azerbaijani Chairmanship-in-Office in the BSEC and hope that achievements to be attained during this term will further develop cooperation among the BSEC Member States.

- How does Azerbaijan benefit economically from its participation in BSEC?

-BSEC provides a platform for cooperation among all its 13 Member States. Direct participation in all BSEC’s framework, subsidiary as well as related BSEC bodies and contribution to the initiation, elaboration, adoption, and then the implementation of policy guidelines, initiatives and projects in line with the objectives of BSEC are by themselves a clear benefit. This allows the country to bring issues that it deems interesting to the agenda for discussion, share its best experiences and inform others about its achievements in respective areas, and in the meantime get acquainted with the experiences of other Member States. Azerbaijan also benefits from the various concrete projects implemented within the Organization.

I would mention for example that the BSEC Council recently adopted, and we have already started the implementation of the “Framework for BSEC E-commerce Cooperation”. You may agree that there is no need to explain how important e-commerce has become as a tool in the internal and international trade. In order to benefit to the best thereof, BSEC intends to hold in the coming months, if possible already under the Azerbaijani BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office, an event dedicated to sharing the domestic experiences of BSEC Member States in the respective area so that to elaborate recommendations in order to shape regional cooperation on e-commerce. There are two other initiatives launched and almost finalized within BSEC, namely the “Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy for the BSEC region” I referred to earlier on and the “Framework for BSEC Single Window Cooperation”. The adoption, I hope under Azerbaijan’s BSEC Chair, of these two documents and their implementation will certainly translate into increased benefits to the Member States, including Azerbaijan, to BSEC area as a whole but also beyond.

- How does Azerbaijan contribute to enhancing trade and investment flows within the Black Sea region through BSEC?

- I would however add that more focus is needed on boosting trade and investment. With a strategic location at the crossroads of East-West and North-South trade routes, Azerbaijan and BSEC region as a whole have become an important global transportation and energy hub with a strong transportation network enabling increased cross-border trade, contributing to the growth in the volume of investment flows within the region and beyond. Increased transit flows through the Middle Corridor via the territory of Azerbaijan reinforces that Corridor as a sustainable, secure and reliable route between Europe and Asia. Therefore, we are looking with great interest at the work done in these areas in Azerbaijan. Indeed, proper infrastructure, trade and transit facilitation, digitalization and transparency are key prerequisites for growth and sustainable flow of trade and investments, and achievements attained by Azerbaijan would certainly add to the overall success of the region.

- In what ways has Azerbaijan helped BSEC address regional security issues in the context of economic cooperation?

-Allow me first to remind that BSEC is, as its name clearly indicates, an organization for economic cooperation. We are aware of course that security matters, but from our perspective, one needs to keep in mind that there is an important economic dimension of security and that promoting and enhancing economic cooperation is, including in terms of cost effectiveness, a most valuable way to enhance security. This being said, and coming to your question, I will answer by giving some concrete examples: Azerbaijan is a key country in the South Caucasus, depositary of rich natural resources. With its energy resources and geo-strategic location, it contributes significantly to the energy supply and energy security for other countries in the region and beyond. Then, major transport corridors are located in its territory and are of key importance for connectivity, trade and supply routes. These are just two examples that highlight the role of Azerbaijan as a significant provider of security. I would add in the same vein the active involvement of Azerbaijan in the areas of environment and climate change which culminated with the hosting in Baku last November of COP29, where thanks to the kind invitation by the Azerbaijani authorities, BSEC participated, for the first time in this important UNFCCC event.

-Your Excellency, thank you very much for your precious time and thoughts that you have shared with us during this interview.

-It was my pleasure, and once again I thank you and your Agency for the interest in BSEC and its activities. May I also take this opportunity as well to express my wishes of and confidence in a very successful Azerbaijani CiO of BSEC.