Practical matters "that can improve lives in the Black Sea region" have been discussed at a meeting of Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov and the new Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Victor Tvircun, in New York.

Ambassador Tvircun expressed thanks for Bulgaria's support for his election and outlined his priorities for the duration of his term of office, the press service of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reported Thursday.

It stressed that the new Secretary General intends to transform the BSEC Secretariat into a more efficiently operating structure that can manage projects effectively.

Minister Mladenov and Ambassador Tvircun agreed that only specific projects - such as maritime security, counter-terrorism and the environment - can revitalize the organization of 12 countries in the region. Minister Mladenov invited Ambassador Tvircun to visit Sofia in the coming weeks.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister has had a number of other meetings, the Foreign Ministry said.

In NY, he discussed regional cooperation, but this time in the context of energy distribution, with the new US Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Carlos Pascual. Their talks focused on Bulgaria's prospective interconnector gas links with Turkey and Greece, and the progress of the Southern Energy Corridor, which could include the downsized Nabucco pipeline, "Nabucco West".

During the 67-th session of the UN General Assembly, Minister Mladenov held talks with the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Riyad Al-Maliki.

"The resolution to recognize Palestine as a nonmember state, which we will submit to the General Assembly by the end of the year, will take account to the maximum degree the views of the international community, in particular the EU," Minister Maliki said.

Bulgaria is to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population. On September 26 2012 the Council of Ministers approved a decision to provide 10 000 euro humanitarian aid for the needs of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Mladenov said.

He also spoke with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, who expressed a desire for closer co-ordination between the EU and the countries of the region in that part of the Middle East.

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