Honourable Minister of Macedonia and Thrace,
Distinguished Colleague, Consul General of Romania,
Members of the Represented States and Organisations,
Dear Guests,

Günaydın. Selanik’e hoşgeldiniz. Kalimera. Welcome to Thessaloniki.

The Black Sea region has in the past been an area in the heart of European and world history, uniting people, societies and traditions, forming a common cultural and intellectual heritage.

Today the Black Sea area presents itself the best in the form of an international organization named Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization with an area of nearly 20 million square kilometres and 350 million people. Though working on numbers, economy and trade is just one factor for achieving prosperity for all those living around the Sea. We need to also understand the past, especially of those times when there were no borders and the seas were simply uniting people and not dividing. The times, when Black Sea and the Mediterranean were together formed an area of common cultural legacy.

By understanding the past of these vast lands, Roman, Ottoman and many others before and after, protecting its historical heritage for the generations to come and promoting its rich cultural legacy for the benefit of the people living in or outside of these territories, we are not simply preserving archeological and cultural heritage but fostering interaction and harmony among the coastal states and its peoples.

Therefore, I wish all the success for the implementation of this project, and the Scientific Committee Meeting in Thessaloniki as well, aiming to establish the necessary channels of cultural communication between the participating bodies, through preservation and promotion.

Thank you.