KIEV, May 16 – More cooperation among parliaments under conditions of new global challenges is needed than ever before and the Black Sea region is very important in this context, said Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.

"The Black Sea region currently is of great importance for European policy, the economy and security, especially in terms of energy, due to its strategic location as a connecting link and transit district at the intersection of Europe, the Middle Ease and Central Asia," Lytvyn said at the 36th plenary meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations in Saint-Petersburg on Monday, Parliament's press service reported.