Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, attended the High-Tech Summit for the Black Sea, held on 27-28 September 2022, in Varna, Bulgaria.

The event was jointly organized by the BRIDGE-BS consortium members: Maritime Cluster Bulgaria (MCB) as the host, Denmark Technical University (DTU), Maritime Strategy (SML, France) and Middle East Technical University (METU, Turkey). The meeting was attended by representatives of the academic circles of the BSEC Member States and of the BSEC Related Bodies.

At the opening, the welcoming message of Mr. Alexander Pulev, Minister of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria, was presented. The Participants were addressed by Ms. Ilse Atanasova, Chair of Maritime Cluster Bulgaria, and other representatives of the organizers.

In his speech, at the opening of the Summit, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, drew the participants' attention to the growing role of information technologies and high-tech in world politics. He noted the importance of promoting science and education, through stimulating investments and creating new professions. The PABSEC Secretary General spoke about the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly in international scientific and technical cooperation, in the Black Sea region and informed the participants about the planned Meeting of the Presidents of the Academies of Sciences of the BSEC Member States, in 2023.

The two-day summit discussed the topical issues of high-tech potentials for a sustainable blue economy in the Black Sea region, and the high-tech for sustainable innovation.

On the sidelines of the event, the PABSEC Secretary General met with the leadership of the Marine Cluster Bulgaria, Ms. Ilza Atanasova and Mr. Svilen Kraychev, and discussed the prospects for cooperation with the PABSEC, in the field of transition to a sustainable blue economy.