President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will attend the two-day Southeast European Countries Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit kicking off today in Bosnia, according to the presidential communications director.
"President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on July 8-9 to attend the Southeast European Cooperation Process Summit," Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter Sunday.
The SEECP is currently chaired by Bosnia-Herzegovina (2018-2019).
Turkey has always contributed effectively to SEECP, the only regional cooperation platform that includes all Balkan countries, he added.
"The meeting will focus on steps to improve cooperation in the Balkans, particularly in the areas of economy, trade, transport, infrastructure and investment," he said.
During the summit, Erdoğan is expected to hold bilateral meetings with members of the Bosnia-Herzegovina tripartite presidency as well as other international leaders in attendance, Altun added.
The Southeast Europe Cooperation Process was initiated in 1996 with a view to transforming Southeast Europe into a region of stability, security and cooperation in line with the European integration processes and through promotion of mutual dialogue and cooperation at all levels and in all areas of common interest.
Twelve countries participate in SEECP work as full-fledged members: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
SEECP is the only Balkan cooperation forum in the region. In this sense, SEECP could be mentioned as the political recipient of Balkan cooperation models of the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s.
Turkey attaches particular importance to the SEECP as the authentic voice of the region, which provides a useful and valuable forum for high-level discussions and deliberations on issues of common concern, according to Turkey's Foreign Ministry.
The Chairmanship-in-Office of the Process, which is structured as a flexible permanent consultancy mechanism without a permanent secretary, is assumed by the participant countries for a one-year term.