A conference themed "Korea-Black Sea Cooperation: Present and Future" will be held at Seoul's Lotte Hotel on June 17, co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the Korean Association of Central & Eastern European and Balkan Studies. Korea's first-ever conference on cooperation between Korea and the Black Sea region, consisting of three sessions on economic cooperation, regional culture, and diplomacy and security, is expected to serve as an opportunity to explore the possibility of cooperation between these two regions in various sectors.
The Black Sea region, situated at the intersection between Europe and Asia, has been acting as an important bridge between the Eastern and Western civilizations since ancient times. This market worth annual US$300 billion in trade has a population of 350 million, abundant natural resources, and great potential to grow into a major energy route. Korea acceded to the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation on January 1, 2011, as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner, since which it has been seeking a variety of cooperation projects with the Black Sea region.
