A summit of heads of government and state of the South East Europe Co-operation Process (SEECP) in Bulgaria's Black Sea resort of Pomorie concluded with a joint declaration affirming determination to develop regional co-operation - even though just one issue that caused drama was Serbia walking out because Kosovo's foreign minister was allowed to speak.

SEECP was set up at Bulgaria's initiative in 1996 and currently has 11 members. The end of the summit sees Bulgaria handing over the one-year rotating chairmanship of SEECP to Moldova.

According to a report by Bulgarian news agency BTA, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said at a close-of-summit news conference that "To me it is of extreme importance that we managed to come up with a joint text of the Pomorie joint declaration and send a clear message about the political will of all countries in the region to develop the co-operation process".

Stanishev said that historically, the Balkans and South East Europe had had the reputation of a region that was unstable and one where past conflicts had the upper hand in good-neighbourly relations.

"I dare claim that irrespective of the historical heritage, there is in the region a brand new spirit of understanding and co-operation. The fact that representatives of Belgrade and Pristina were present together at the same table at SEEPC needs to be taken into account," Stanishev said.

Earlier on May 21 2008, however, the Serbian delegation walked out because the Kosovo foreign minister was allowed to address the summit. Serbia, which rejects Kosovo's February 17 2008 declaration of independence, had told the forum that the representative of the United Nations mission in Kosovo was the only person legitimately entitled to speak on behalf of Kosovo.

The participants in the Pomorie summit confirmed that the future of the countries in Southeast Europe was in the European Union.

Moldovan news agency Infotag reported that Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin had told the summit that European integration was the main target and driving force of democratic reforms in the region.

As chairman of the SEECP, Moldova would focus its efforts on European integration, he said.

Voronin described the summit as a new step towards the consolidation of the region and highlighted that Moldova was deeply honoured to chair the SEECP. Moldova joined the SEECP in 2006.

"The SEECP is an effective instrument for our countries to promote a single policy to settle regional challenges and problems," Voronin said.