Aviation authorities from a number of Balkan countries joined Turkish authorities Wednesday for a summit in Turkey's popular southern tourism destination Antalya.

The summit is expected see several agreements signed between Turkey and the Balkan countries represented at the meeting to boost cooperation in the aviation sector.

Speaking at the opening session of the summit, Turkey's Civil Aviation Director General Ali Arıduru said the country's aviation sector had made a huge progress over the last decade, adding that the sector's contribution to the economy had grown to $10 billion this year, up from $2.2 billion in early 2000s.

“Today, Turkey has seven carriers that operate scheduled flights from seven centers to 46 airports," Arıduru said.

The aviation sector employs 110,000 people in Turkey, Arıduru said, adding that the annual number of passengers had increased from 33 million in the early 2000s to 85 million in 2009, with an estimated 100 million passengers expected to fly in 2010.

Aviation officials from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, FYRMacedonia, Moldova and Serbia are participating in the summit.