On 19 April 2007, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Abdullah Gül will pay a visit to Belgrade to attend the Sixteenth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC).

Turkey will take over the Chairmanship-in-Office of the BSEC from Serbia as of 1 May 2007 for a period of six months.

During the Council Meeting three Memoranda of Understanding, namely MoU for the "Coordinated Development of the Black Sea Ring Highway”, MoU on “The Development of the Motorways of the Sea at the BSEC Region” and MoU on “Cooperation among the Diplomatic Academies and Institutes of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States” will also be signed.

On the occasion of the Meeting, a ceremony will be held through which the BSEC Caravan consisting of twelve trucks from each Member State will officially start its voyage from Belgrade. The Caravan, which aims at promoting the “Black Sea Ring Highway Project”, is expected to terminate its voyage in İstanbul at the end of May, after travelling through all the BSEC Countries around the Black Sea.

On the margins of the BSEC Council Meeting, Minister Gül is also expected to meet with some of his counterparts from BSEC countries to exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues.