Turkey eager to boost cooperation against Black Sea pollution

ANKARA (A.A) - March 1, 2012 - Turkey's environment and urbanization minister expressed willingness on Thursday to boost cooperation against pollution of the Black Sea. Erdogan Bayraktar said Turkey was eager to boost concerted efforts against pollution of the Black Sea within the scope of the Bucharest Convention. "We will also go on further improving friendship between countries for best interests of people," Bayraktar said as he received a Romanian parliamentary delegation, headed by Atilla Korodi--the head of Romanian House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, in Ankara. Bayraktar said Turkey was Romania's biggest trade partner in the Balkans and Middle East, and thanked Romania for supporting Turkey's European Union (EU) membership. "It is important for us to share Romania's negotiation experiences, particularly in environment," Bayraktar said. Bayraktar said Turkish-Romanian trade volume had reached 6 billion USD in 2010 and Turkish businessmen actually had 1.5 billion Euro investments in Romania, particularly in banking, insurance, food, electronics, textile, shopping mall, hotel construction, dwelling and office construction. The minister enumerated automotive by-industry, construction materials and chemical industries as areas two countries could boost their cooperation.