On March 23-24, Sofia, the capital of Republic of Bulgaria, hosted the second Black Sea Stakeholder Conference "New Opportunities for the Blue Economy of the Black Sea". Ajara region was represented at the conference as one of the major stakeholders in the process of creating a joint system of blue economy. During the conference a joint presentation was held by the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara and "Batumi Water" LTD. The event organizers were European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries together with Bulgarian Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications. Apart from Georgia, the delegates from Romania, Ukraine, Moldova and other Black Sea regions were participating in the conference.

During the conference and workshop the following issues were discussed: networking tools for maritime establishments, diversification and development of traditional domains among Black Sea regions (including cruise tourism), sustainable use of the Black Sea.

More detailed information about the conference as well as the presentation made by the department at the conference is available on the webpage of European Commission.