Speaking at the online General Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization Parliamentary Assembly, Dr. Akkan Suver talked about the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the General Assembly, attended by the Speakers of the Parliaments of Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Greece, Ukraine, Turkey, and PABSEC member deputies; the President status of the PABSEC passed to the President of the Parliament of Romania Ludovic Orban.

Below you will find the text of Dr.Suver's speech at the General Assembly:

"Respected President,

Distinguished participants of the PABSEC, I respectfully greet your high delegation on behalf of Turkey's non-governmental organization, Marmara Group Foundation.

For about a year and a half, we have been holding our meetings in a virtual environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I hope this meeting will be our last meeting virtually.

Distinguished Participants,

The pandemic we are living in has revealed the importance of acting on a global scale.

The pandemic has made us accept that we need to build our way out of the crisis that we are in, in the cultural, social, political and economic fields together, whether we want it or not.

In this environment, I would like to talk to your high delegation about the contribution of the Belt and Road Initiative to the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Balkan Region, whose framework was drawn by President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The Belt and Road Project will bring a new activism to these regions, with a line reaching from China to England.

It would be undermining to consider this activism only in terms of economy, trade, social or cultural dimensions.

Of course, although it may seem like a commercial cooperation at first glance, the Belt and Road Initiative is an advanced technology transfer. It is the transfer of 5G from country to country. It means that Artificial intelligence is building bridges between countries. In short, it is a peace and stability project that will open the door to a new global order from these regions to the Far East.

The Belt and Road Initiative, “Green Silk Road”, “Health Silk Road”, “Digital Silk Road” will form the cornerstones of a sustainable initiative of the newly formed global information highway.

In addition, with this project, we will witness the development of intercultural dialogue, as well as sharing the increasing wealth, languages knowing other languages, religions meeting with other religions and beliefs.

Again, this project will create transnational social spaces with a theoretical perspective, facilitate commercial growth in the Balkans geography, and provide new opportunities for the development of infrastructures.

In addition, this project will have a positive impact on the local economies of the regions, as it creates new employment opportunities in our regions, creates infrastructure and production opportunities, and plays a role in stimulating development.
Therefore, it is a mutually beneficial project. That's why this project is called a win-win.

The projects will also open the door to initiatives that will create more local jobs, transfer knowledge and have high economic values.

Let's not forget that this project will cause foreign investors to come to our geography.

While I am summarizing my words, I would like to underline with bold lines that with this project, peace and stability will come to the Balkans, the Black Sea region and the wider Eurasian geography.

As the Marmara Group Foundation, we believe and support that this project will be of great service in eliminating our longing for peace and stability.

With these thoughts, I respectfully greet your high delegation."