Representatives and energy officials from the Caucasus and Black Sea regions agreed on Saturday in the northern Greek town of Komotini to forge greater trade ties and expand energy within the region. The declaration, signed by senior diplomats and energy officials from 12 countries, Greece, Albania, Armenia. Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia-Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine, is aimed at developing closer cooperation in the fields of trade and energy. Greece is currently chairing the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, a regional trade forum founded in 1992. The two-day meeting follows an April 12 agreement between Bulgaria, Greece and Russia to build a 285-kilometre Balkan pipeline, a project intended to speed up the transfer of oil and natural gas from the former Soviet Union to western markets. The deal, worth more than 500 million euros, will connect pipelines from Bulgaria's port of Burgas to Greece's Alexandrouplis, thus bypassing Turkey's busy Bosporus strait. Saturday's declaration, also called for expanded regional cooperation in tourism, transportation and fighting organized crime and illegal trafficking. -- SP 2342 Local Time 2042 GMT
