Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS on official visit to CCIR

Bucharest, February 6, 2020 : The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), Mr. Mihai Daraban, received the official visit of Mr. Michael B. Christides, Ambassador, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC).

The official meeting took place at the CCIR headquarters in Bucharest, and was organized in the context of a new 6 months mandate of Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office to the BSEC. In the meantime, President of CCIR, Mr. Mihai Daraban, was appointed Chairman-in-Office of the BSEC Business Council (BSEC-BC).

Mr. Mihai Daraban, President of CCIR, declared: CCIR is willing to contribute to the enhancement of the cohesion inside BSEC BC, by stimulating the connectivity of the Black Sea region with the European Union. After taking over the Chairmanship-in-Office of BSEC BC, CCIR took the initiative to tackle major issues both for the EU and BSEC countries, such as the European Green Deal, the opportunities of circular economy for SMEs, decreasing pollution issue, digitalization and energy security .

At the same time, President Daraban pointed out: … in the frame of BSEC BC, CCIR’s aim is to approach pragmatic issues, with large positive impact on business community in the Black Sea region. In this respect, for instance, we will focus on a large lobby action, aiming to obtain preferential tariffs for the shipping operators originating from the Black Sea Region, transiting various strategic international naval straits.

Mr. Michael B. Christides, stressed that in the last period of time, general tendencies of the BSEC members were of reluctance and lack of interest, caused by recent political disputes in the region, which led to less involvement in potential projects.

Given this context, His Excellency added: …in this unstable environment, a convergence of the economic interests of the member states, induced consistently by the Business Council currently under the Romanian Chairmanship of the CCIR, could lead to a revival of the spirit of cohesion between the important actors within the organization.