The business potential of the Romanian companies in the Black Sea economic cooperation area stands at 42 billion U.S. dollars, Romanian national Rompres news agency reported on Monday citing the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The announcement was made in Bucharest on Monday on the occasion of the official presentation of the Program for the Promotion of Investments and Trade in the Black Sea Area.

The overall purpose of the program is to back the Black Sea area's economic growth and development by closer economic integration and to expand the trade inside the region and the investment connections among the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) states.

According to a UNDP survey, the trade potential inside the BSEC region for the Romanian companies still has a lot of potential waiting to be used by the Romanian firms, namely such potential stands at 42 billion dollars.

The program beneficiaries are going to be the small-and medium-sized enterprises, while special attention will be paid to the companies headed by young entrepreneurs or women.

The success of the program will depend mostly on the active involvement of the business community from each BSEC member state, the UNDP underscored.

The Program for the Promotion of Investments and Trade in the Black Sea Area is co-funded by Turkey's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Greece's Economy and Finances Ministry, the UNDP and the BSEC. It is the first UNDP-sponsored program to be co-financed by the Turkish and Greek governments and it is also the first project conducted by the UNDP and BSEC.

The UNDP is the United Nations' global development network, which pleads for change and connects the countries to knowledge, experience and resources, with the network being present in 166 countries.