BLACK SEA’S IMPORTANCE GROWING, SAYS BULGARIAN ENVOY
Hurriyet Daily News
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Russian coast guard boats arrive in the Black Sea port of Ochamchiri
in December. Bulgaria’s Special Envoy Ivan Petkov says the Black Sea
is a strategic crossroads. AP photo
Russian coast guard boats arrive in the Black Sea port of Ochamchiri
in December. Bulgaria’s Special Envoy Ivan Petkov says the Black Sea
is a strategic crossroads. AP photo
The strategic importance of the Black Sea as a key geopolitical
crossroad linking Europe with Central Asia and the Caucasus is ever
growing, according to Bulgaria’s Special Envoy Ivan Petkov, speaking
at the Third Japan-Black Sea Region Dialogue held this week in Tokyo.
Petkov is the representative of the Bulgarian chairmanship-in-office
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC. The topic of the
two-day meeting was "Prospects of changing the wider Black Sea region
and the role of Japan." It was supported by the Tokyo Club and the
Japan Foundation and sponsored by the Global Forum of Japan, or GFJ,
and BSEC.
"The time when Japanese foreign policy toward the Black Sea region
was cautious should be over," said Petkov. He said Japan is faithful
to universal values such as democracy and the market economy and
that it would only benefit from increased involvement in the region,
from stronger ties with Brussels and greater coordination with BSEC.
Petkov outlined the three directions as sectoral partnerships within
the frame of the Black Sea Synergy to gather financial support
for shared projects in energy, transport and the environment; the
necessity of effective participation of the European Commission
as an observer to BSEC and of involving more actively the other EU
member states with an observer or sectoral partner status to BSEC;
and strengthening of BSEC-EU dialogue through meetings in Brussels.
BSEC has been cooperating with the European Union more closely and
establishing higher-level cooperation and ties with other important
organizations. Petkov said BSEC became a member of the United Nations’
Alliance of Civilizations in 2009.
Importance of security
Turning to the issue of security, Petkov said all BSEC members, not
just the littoral states, should pay a working visit to the Black Sea
Border Coordination and Information Center in Bourgas. "The aim is
to contribute to strengthening the efficiency of border management,"
he said.
BSEC Secretary-General Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulus also
addressed security. "After Sept. 11, the fight against terrorism and
the efforts to dry up its financial resources, which are mostly linked
to various forms of organized crime such as the trafficking of arms,
drugs and human beings, have also increased the political and strategic
importance of the Black Sea region. We must acknowledge that frozen
conflicts pose a threat to security in the region. Frozen conflicts
constitute the main obstacles to enhancing regional cooperation. These
should be dealt with effectively and solved peacefully," he said.
Mithat Rende, director-general of economic affairs for Turkey’s
Foreign Ministry, talked about his country’s initiative to create
the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. "Countries in the
region support this initiative and hopefully it will create new and
constructive dynamics that will assist in the comprehensive settlement
of all Caucasian disputes."
Rende also referred to the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 and how BSEC
has continued to meet "in a friendly and constructive atmosphere."
"This has been a clear indication of the commitment of all the
member states to BSEC and to its goals of turning the BSEC region
into a region of peace, stability and prosperity through economic
cooperation."
Additional steps
According to BSEC’s secretary-general, of particular importance are the
additional steps being planned "in facilitating the road transport of
goods, which is also expected to contribute to trade relations in the
region. Within this framework, a pilot project for a BSEC permit system
for the road transit of goods has been prepared. The implementation
of this pilot project will start Feb. 16 with the participation of
some of the BSEC member states. This permit system is expected to
facilitate the work of the road transporters and simplify border
procedures in the region. With this project, BSEC will become the
first regional organization to issue such transit documents.
"Once they are in force, BSEC agreements to simplify visa procedures
for businesspeople and lorry drivers who are nationals of BSEC member
states, signed in 2008 in Tirana, will also surely contribute to
trade cooperation."
BSEC members are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The
organization was established in 1992 through Turkey’s initiative and
as Chrysanthopoulus describes it, "Today, BSEC is the most inclusive
regional organization in the Black Sea area with developed mechanisms
and instruments of cooperation and a diverse institutional framework."