21 August 2015 FridayToday, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), the country?s top private business association. The Memorandum will open new opportunities for BSTDB and TOBB to strengthen cooperation and promote joint activities in Turkey and in the Black Sea region. The two parties will identify and promote projects developing trade and investment among the Bank?s member states. The MoU was signed by Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President and Faik Yavuz, Accountant Board Member of TOBB, on behalf of Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President, at the TOBB headquarters in Ankara. ?Enhancing cooperation with development partners in promoting balanced growth and sustainable development in the region is a top priority for the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. Therefore, it is very symbolic that this Memorandum is being signed during the TOBB chairmanship of B20. Our two institutions share the common mission of supporting entrepreneurship and the SME sector. We are confident that our strengthened synergies will add real value to the market?, said Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President at the signing ceremony in Ankara. ?I would like to state my pleasure to Ihsan Delikanli for his effort to build this cooperation between our two institutions. I believe that this agreement will make a great contribution to economic and commercial relations of BSEC countries by providing a perpetual dialog mechanism?, said Faik Yavuz, Accountant Board Member of TOBB at the signing ceremony. The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) is the highest legal entity in Turkey representing the private sector. TOBB has 1,5 million members under 365 local chambers of commerce and industry, maritime commerce and commodity exchanges. Among the main purposes of TOBB is the development of the capacity of the Turkish private sector. For information on TOBB, visit: www.tobb.org.tr The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion). BSTDB is rated long-term ?A-? by Standard and Poor?s and ?A3? by Moody?s. For more information, visit www.bstdb.org