BSEC was established by the signing of the Istanbul Declaration on Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on June 25, 1992, which defined the general framework of the activity of this intergovernmental organization.

The Charter of the Organization of BSEC was signed on June 5, 1998 during the Yalta Summit and was ratified with the Law 19.03.99 № 526-XIV (526-14) This transformed the structure into a full-fledged regional economic organization.

BSEC objectives:

-          to act in the spirit of friendship and neighborliness, to strengthen mutual respect and trust, dialogue and cooperation among Member States;

-          to promote the development and diversification of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the basis of principles and norms of international law;

-          improve business conditions and encourage personal and collective initiative of enterprises and companies directly involved in the process of economic cooperation;

-          to develop economic cooperation without violating the international obligations of Member States, including obligations arising from their membership in international organizations or unifying (or other nature) institutions, and without prejudice to the development of their relations with third parties;

-          to take into account specific economic conditions and interests of Member States;

-          to encourage other interested states, international economic and financial institutions, and companies/enterprises to participate in the BSEC's economic cooperation process.

Member States: Azerbaijan, Albania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Greece, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.