Turkey hosts SE Europe Cooperation Process meeting

ANTALYA, Turkey

Turkey on Friday held an informal meeting of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

Presided by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, officials discussed ways to strengthen cooperation against the novel coronavirus during the meeting.

Seven countries attended the meeting at the ministerial level, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Turkey assumed the chairmanship of the SEECP on July 1, 2020, for a one-year term.

Ankara proposed the development of a regional emergency crisis management mechanism against future pandemics.

Besides bilateral meetings with his counterparts, Cavusoglu, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, held two trilateral meetings separately with Croatia and Serbia.

Cavusoglu issued multiple statements on his Twitter account following the meetings.

The Turkish foreign minister said at a trilateral meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the participants discussed ways to boost economic, political and cultural ties, regional stability, and prosperity.

"Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway is a significant Peace Project and will generate important investments," said Cavusoglu.

Regarding his meeting with Croatia's Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, Cavusoglu said the two sides expressed the wish to establish the Joint Economic and Trade Commission and revitalize the Joint Economic Commission.

On his meeting with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, he said both countries agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields particularly counter-terror operations and defense.

"[We] will work together to increase our trade up to $1 billion," he said.

He also shared details about his "fruitful" meeting with Albania's acting Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj. He said Turkey was the largest foreign investor in Albania and both sides were committed to developing cooperation in all fields including defense and economy.

Turkey will hand over the presidency of the SEECP to Greece in June next year.

During its presidency, Ankara plans to hold several high-level activities, as well as over 40 projects including meetings and workshops.

Founded in 1996, the SEECP includes 13 countries from southeastern Europe and promotes comprehensive regional cooperation.