The leaders of 12 countries in the Black Sea region, among them Russian President Vladimir Putin, will gather here Monday to discuss projects aimed at boosting trade and economic cooperation.

The summit of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) marks the 15th anniversary of the body, founded in 1992 following the collapse of the Communist bloc to promote stability and economic ties between nations who belonged to opposite camps during the Cold War.

The members of the group are the six Black Sea littoral states -- Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine -- as well as Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia.

The host country Turkey, which currently chairs the group, says it wants to give a new impetus to the organisation and is calling for increased efforts in the areas of transport, energy, trade, environmental protection and combatting organised crime.

One of the major objectives on the BSEC agenda is upgrading transport infrastructure as a means of boosting trade and tourism, including projects for a 7,500-kilometre (4,660-mile) ring road along the Black Sea coast and regular maritime links between the ports of member states.

Removing legal barriers to trade is another priority, with a special meeting on the issue scheduled for September.

The group is also seeking to develop closer cooperation with the European Union, and the vice president of the European Commission, Guenter Verheugen, is expected to attend the summit in Istanbul.

The BSEC covers an area of nearly 20 million square kilometres (7.7 million square miles) with a population of some 350 million people. Its member states have a total foreign trade capacity of about 300 billion dollars (223.5 billion euros) annually.

The region is the second-largest source of oil and natural gas, after the Persian Gulf region.

All member countries except Armenia are expected to be represented by their presidents or prime ministers in Istanbul, Turkish officials said.

Armenia, which has no diplomatic ties with Turkey, will be represented by Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

Ahead of the summit meeting, the foreign ministers of member states will hold a separate round of talks Monday morning.

A senior Turkish diplomat said Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul would hold bilateral meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the summit, without ruling out the possibility of him meeting also with Oskanian.

Turkish and Armenian officials have held talks in the fringes of international gatherings in the past.