President Iotova to Host Southeast European Cooperation Process Summit

Sofia will mark 30 years since the creation of the regional cooperation format

 

On June 10, 2026, Head of State Iliana Iotova will host the anniversary Summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). Sofia will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of this regional cooperation format, initiated by Bulgaria in 1996.

 

The high-level forum in Sofia is the final stage of the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the SEECP, which our country took over from Albania last year. At the summit, Bulgaria will hand over the Chairmanship for next year to Romania.

 

At the National Palace of Culture, President Iotova will welcome the heads of delegations from 12 countries participating in the SEECP and the Regional Cooperation Council. The following will arrive in Sofia to participate in the meeting: Denis Becirovic - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar ; President of Albania Bajram Begaj ; President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic; President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska- Davkova; Acting President of Kosovo, Albulena Haxsiu; Prime Minister of Moldova Alexandru Munteanu, the Prime Minister of Serbia, Djuro Matsut, Greek Foreign Minister, Georgios Gerapetritis; Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu; Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan; Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Gordan Grlic-Radman. The meeting will also be attended by Amer Kapetanovic, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, which is the operational unit of the SEECP.

 

The heads of delegations will hold a plenary session, which will be opened by President Iliana Yotova. It will discuss a declaration on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the initiative and a discussion on "Strengthening regional unity for a stable, secure and sustainable future". After the end of the Summit, joint statements to the media will be given by the heads of delegations of the so-called Troika - Albania, Bulgaria and Romania (the previous, incumbent and incoming chairman of the SEECP).

 

SEECP is a regional platform for dialogue to build trust, cooperation and good neighbourly relations in South East Europe. The initiative was launched in July 1996 in Sofia, when the Sofia Declaration on Good Neighborly Relations, Stability, Security, and Cooperation in the Balkans was adopted at a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of eight SEE countries. Over the years, the number of participating countries has increased and today there are 13 – Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Croatia, and Montenegro.

 

Since the initiative's inception, Bulgaria has assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of the SEECP four times. On June 16, 2025, our country assumed the chairmanship in Tirana, which was held under the motto “A Compass for Stability, Security, and Resilience”.