Deputy Minister Rouben Shougarian lead an Armenian delegation to the 9th Black Sea Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in Baku.

The Armenian delegation participated in the Ninth Meeting of the Council of Ministers which was held from October 29 to 31.

In his statement at the Conference, Deputy Minister Shougarian noted that "Some progress has been achieved in such vital areas of [regional] cooperation as energy, transport and tourism."

He continued, "At this stage one of the major tasks for our organization is the search for a coherent policy to meet the challenges of global developments. In an interdependent world economic system, regionalism is seen as an agent of integration and globalization as well as a lever of transformation from planned economic systems to market economies. Regional cooperation is also a means of strengthening democratization process and democratic institutions."

Azerbaijan held the presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation over the last six months and therefore hosted the Ministerial. The previous conference was held in Yerevan in April.

In Baku, Deputy Minister Shougarian responded to reporters' questions. On Armenia's advocacy of open borders with Turkey, he explained that this would be of benefit to both countries, and to the region. Responding to a question about a possible upcoming meeting between the Armenian and Azeri presidents, he said that nothing is set yet, and that there may be opportunities to meet within the framework of various international meetings.

On October 31, the last day of the BSEC Conference, Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev was inaugurated president. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian explained that the Armenian delegation did not attend the inauguration, since no such traditions exist between the two countries.