The OECD Development Centre and the Hellenic Business Council, member of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) Business Council jointly organise a regional forum on private sector development in the Black Sea Region, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The forum takes places on 24-25 February 2005 in Thessaloniki, Greece, within the framework of  the Hellenic Chairmanship of the BSEC (1 November 2004 – 30 April 2005).

Aim and Structure of the Meeting

An important aim of the meeting is to favour policy dialogue amongst private sector, governments and international organisations. Therefore, a delegation from each BSEC member country is invited to attend the meeting, comprising representatives from government and the business sector. Additional experts and investors from neighbouring countries may also be invited.

The meeting is organised around two days. On the first day, four sessions will address in turn the opportunities for enhancing trade and investment in the region and the necessary policy framework. The second day is devoted to exploring ways to enhancing business co-operation in specific industries, including transport and communication, manufacturing, energy and services. Each session will discuss experiences and plans for developing the private sector in specific sectors of the economy, taking into account the constraints imposed by regional realities and seeking ways around them. A concluding session will summarise the major findings of the forum and suggest the way forward.

1. The Policy Framework for Private Sector Development in the BSEC Region

• Session I - The Economic and Political Outlook for the BSEC Region, will provide an overview of the economic outlook for the BSEC region and set the stage with a view to scoping the issues, sharing a common understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing private sector development in the region and exploring the potential gains from increased regional co-operation.
• Session II – Prospects of Business Co-operation in the BSEC Region, will address the major opportunities and policy priorities to expand trade and investment within the region from a business perspective.
• Session III – The Business Climate: What Role for Policies to Underpin Trade and Investment? will focus on policy responses from governments to the challenges identified above. In particular it will focus on how governments are working together to enhance regional cooperation. This will include ways to improve the business climate, infrastructure and trade facilitation.
• Session IV – Institution building and good governance. Lessons of experience, will discuss the experience of countries in the region in their efforts to promote institutional renewal and good governance in the area of trade, investment and international co-operation. What can the BSEC countries learn from each other? What lessons from experience can be learned from neighbouring European countries in the area of public governance and regulatory reform? What role can partnership programmes between BSEC and intergovernmental organisations such as the OECD play?

2. Enhancing Business Co-operation in Specific Industries

• Infrastructure, Transport and Communication. This session will look at policies and investment in the area of transport and communication infrastructure and their potential to foster intra- and extra-regional trade and investment.
• The Manufacturing Sector. This session will consider the trends in manufacturing sector in sectors relevant to the region and highlight emerging issues and necessary policy responses.
• The Energy Sector. This session will consider the energy outlook for the region and analyse the opportunities and constraints for improving energy policy and energy co-operation in the region.
• The Service Sector. This session will consider the implications of further liberalisation of trade in services, the constraints and opportunities in specific service sector such as tourism and ITC, the instruments available to access finance and mitigate risks.

BSEC member countries are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia - Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine