6 Balkan Countries Convene, Pledge to Foster Cooperation

Officials of the six Balkan countries pledged Friday to promote cooperation in the region in their first meeting since radical change swept Eastern Europe.

Senior diplomats from Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Greece spent three days assessing their efforts “to consistently promote the process of multilateral and bilateral cooperation,” they said in a statement.

Delegates reviewed progress since their foreign ministers first met in Belgrade in February, 1988. Balkan foreign ministers are due to meet again in Tirana, Albania, in October, the statement said.

In 18 lower-level meetings in the last two years, the countries have decided to cooperate in the fields of economy, trade, industry, technology, tourism, railways, health and environment.