MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
Minist er Oskanian Participates in
the XVI Meeting of BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
On April 19, Foreign Minister Oskanian attended the meeting of the Black
Sea Economic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers, held in Belgrade.
The Foreign Ministers of Greece, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Azerbaijan, as
well as high-ranking representatives of Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Moldova and Ukraine also took part in the meeting. The Foreign Minister of
Serbia opened the Ministerial Meeting and the participants heard a
welcoming speech from Serbian President Boris Tadic.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Belgrade Declaration was signed, as
was a Memorandum of Understanding on the Coordinated Development of the
Black Sea Ring Highway and the Motorways of the Sea in the Black Sea
Region.
The presidency of BSEC has now been passed from Serbia to Turkey for the
next six months. The BSEC Summit, devoted to the 15th Anniversary of BSEC,
will be held on 25 June in Istanbul.
The complete text of Minister Oskanian’s speech appears below:
STATEMENT BY H.E. VARTAN OSKANIAN
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AT THE BSEC XVI MINISTERIAL MEETING
Belgrade, Serbia
April 19, 2007
Mr. Chairman, I join my colleagues in thanking the Government and people
of Serbia for their hospitality, and I would like to congratulate the
Chairman-in-Office on the successful conclusion of a fruitful term.
The Summit being planned for June will mark this organization’s 15 years.
Anniversaries are by definition significant, since they mark the
recurrence of an event of historic importance. This anniversary marks the
beginning of a visionary effort — to turn neighbors into partners, and
thus turn geography into history.
For 15 years, a dozen of us have come together at various governmental
levels to build bridges across the Black Sea, from west to east and from
south to north. The Black Sea Economic cooperation was conceived to
provide concrete opportunities for cooperation, integration and support,
to provide benefits for all, from a limitless pool of potential, or I
should say, a limitless sea of potential. The need that was clear 15 years
ago has only become more acute today, especially as we consider deepening
our relations with the EU.
Mr. Chairman,
The specific efforts aimed at broadening interaction between BSEC and the
EU and
institutionalizing such interaction will be remembered as one of the
significant outputs of this period. You have engaged all BSEC
institutions so that they can help formulate the structure for such
cooperation.
A Black Sea dimension within EU policy will formalize the premise that was
at the heart of the establishment of this organization – that as Europe
grows and changes, the promise of economic cooperation within and around
Europe will grow, and the countries of the Black Sea must be prepared to
contribute to and benefit from such developments.
If today, we are signing the Belgrade Declaration, it is because we
recognize, reaffirm, and emphasize that which our heads of state and
government signed in June 1992 – that there are economic disparities
amongst our members, that there are political hesitancies caused by
historical and other experiences, and finally, that none of these are
reason to avoid cooperation. On the contrary, they are the rationale and
motivation for enabling, encouraging, supporting cooperation – albeit
slowly and in stages.
And we have done that. From the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to
the International Center for Black Sea Studies, we have built successful,
functioning mechanisms for multilateral cooperation.
Despite differences among states, BSEC and its institutions have already
proven their viability. The BSEC tries to be the place where
environmental, economic, social and even political differences are
mitigated, keeping in view the future, and not the competitive, sometimes
adversarial past.
None of us, here, in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation are here by
invitation. We are here because we are here, in this neighborhood, in this
region. And, here, in this region, we have transport systems that need to
be united, not divided, energy systems that need to be shared not
isolated, banking systems that need resources added, not subtracted,
education systems that need to be broadened, not secluded, societies that
need to be inclusive, not exclusive.
To accomplish this, it is our shared purpose and overlapping interests
that must prevail over our sometimes deep-seated differences. As we plan
to upgrade and refurbish water systems, we cannot allow existing rail
lines to sit idle. As we work to ensure proper conditions for capital
flow, we cannot prevent people flow. As we develop projects to share
agricultural know-how, we cannot block trade across borders.
Mr. Chairman,
This organization got its start because there was a vision. It continued
to operate because those around the Black Sea needed that vision, and
those outside the Black Sea region wanted to believe in the promise of
that vision. We wouldn’t need an organization such as this one if every
country in the Black Sea area cooperated and shared. We need this
organization precisely because this is a complex region with a variety of
economic, social, historic and political experiences that require special
conditions. That is why we are today launching the Black Sea Ring Highway
Caravan as a symbol of the importance of communication networks.
Yet, the success and effectiveness of this organization will be measured
not by the quantity of its projects, but by the audacity of their intent.
As we congratulate Turkey on assuming the Chairmanship, we note that it
will carry the same challenges that lay on their shoulders at the time of
the creation of this organization – to be not just the geographical anchor
for cooperation in and around the Black Sea, but also the political
rudder.
We wish them well and stand prepared to work with them to that end.
Thank you.