Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov is attending a meeting of heads of state and government of the countries participating in the Southeast European Cooperation Process on Friday, the Presidency said on its website.

The meeting is taking place in Chisinau and it is also attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka Kosor of Croatia and Vujuca Lozovic of Montenegro, Regional Cooperation Council Secretary General Hido Biscevic, Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Central European Initiative Secretary General Pietro Ercole Ago, and representatives of the European Commission and of the current and next Presidency of the EU.

In a statement at the forum, the Bulgarian President said that the attendance of the countries participating in the Process, the European Commission, the countries participating in the Board of the Regional Cooperation Council and its leadership is a serious proof of the role of regional cooperation in the framework of SEECP as an integral part of European integration.

All countries of Southeast Europe share similar positions about their European identity as an unquestionable and definitive factor for their stability, sustainable development and prosperity, Purvanov said. He expressed his satisfaction with the progress in the negotiations of the European Union with some countries on accession and the implementation of the agreements on stabilization and association with the rest.

According to him, the European neighborhood policy has been enriched with a new dimension - Eastern Partnership, through which new opportunities emerge about a mutual relation between regions and policies in the process of building the all-European space.

Purvanov stated Bulgaria's categorical position about stepping up the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of all countries of the region of Southeast Europe. This integration rests on the understanding about a common system of values, shared responsibility and a balance between national, regional and European interests, he said.

The process of security and cooperation has won itself the right to be an authentic voice of the region, the Bulgarian head of state said, adding that in the complex coordinate system of contemporary globalization the regionalism of Southeast Europe has a clear orientation towards European and Euro-Atlantic identity.

In his statement Purvanov also laid emphasis on the development of parliamentary cooperation in the region. In implementation of the signed memorandum of understanding on interparliamentary cooperation in Southeast Europe the Bulgarian Parliament is in the final phase of establishing the legal framework for the functioning of its Secretariat in Sofia, he said.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Bulgarian President held a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, during which the sides discussed matters of bilateral nature and the SEECP chairmanship which Turkey is taking over.

Source: BTA