On the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), the First Meeting of the Presidents of the Academies of Sciences of the BSEC Member States was organized in Istanbul with the participation of the rectors of leading Turkish universities.

The President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Prof. Julian Revalski, Member of BAS, participated in the meeting which took place on 14 and 15 February. The meeting was attended by representatives of the academies of sciences of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine as well as the Black Sea Universities Network.

Mr. Fatih Dönmez, Vice President of PABSEC, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, Secretary-General of PABSEC and Ambassador Merve Safa Kavakcı, First Deputy Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of BSEC addressed the participants at the opening ceremony. During the meeting, Prof Julian Revalski presented the activities of BAS.

Participants exchanged views on a wide range of issues of cooperation in science and education between the countries of the wider Black Sea region. It was decided to hold these meetings annually and it was proposed to organise the next meeting in 2025 in Istanbul under the patronage of Istanbul University and the Black Sea Universities Network.

The Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is an interstate economic cooperation organisation in the Black Sea region. Bulgaria was the Chair of BSEC from November 2009 to April 2010 and from January to June 2019.