Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour and privilege for me to address you on the occasion of the Ninth Meeting of the BSEC Council of Foreign Ministers.

Mr. Chairman,

We are pleased to acknowledge that during the last six month our joint negotiation efforts aimed at developing and deepening of the regional cooperation produced some concrete results. Notable progress has been achieved in such vital areas of our cooperation as energy, transport and tourism. Some positive steps have been also taken in the fields of trade and economic development, SMEs and cooperation in emergency assistance, due to the productive meetings of the relevant Working Groups.

Another issue of our consideration is relations with the PABSEC. There is a shared perception, expressed during the BSEC Ministerial Meetings, that the increasing role of the BSEC Parliamentary Assembly and advancement of the BSEC-PABSEC interaction will promote the cooperation process in our region. Strengthening of the legal basis of the PABSEC by adoption of the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the PABSEC during this meeting will be an important step in this direction.

Still, at this stage one of the major tasks for our organization is the search for a coherent policy to meet the challenges of global developments. In an interdependent world economic system, regionalism is seen as an agent of integration and globalization as well as a lever of transformation from planned economic systems to market economies. Regional cooperation is also a means of strengthening democratization process and democratic institutions.

It is a common vision, that BSEC efforts should be focused on the implementation of specific practical projects, and the organization should become a project-oriented endeavor. With the establishment of the Project Development Fund and after the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank has started its operations we have all the necessary preconditions for that. Now the BSEC member-states should demonstrate their commitment to be guided by pragmatism and mutual interest in their economic cooperation. This approach is based upon the presumption that cooperation in economic realm should contribute to the creation of a more positive political climate and to strengthening security and stability in the region. Currently, BSEC is seen as an important confidence-building measure in the region that has the potential to contribute to the overcoming of the possible new division lines.

Mr. Chairman,

In this new world, groups and individuals more and more often interact directly across frontiers, without involving the state. This has its dangers. Terrorism, narcotics, pollution, disease, weapons, refugees and migrants: all move back and forth faster and in greater numbers than in the past. People feel threatened by events far away. But new technologies also create opportunities for mutual understanding and common action.

The 9.11 terrorist attack was a brutal reminder that new threats are real and imminent. They are also global and can be fought successfully only by standing shoulder to shoulder against them. In such conditions, Armenia attaches special importance to cooperation in combating organized crime, terrorism in particular, drug and weapon trafficking and illegal migration. Since the first Meeting of the Ministers of Interior, which took place in Yerevan in 1996, the cooperation in the above-mentioned field has been well underway. In this regard, we are particularly pleased by the results of the last meeting of the Working Group on Combating Crime, which took place earlier this month in Bucharest. During that meeting our experts successfully finalized the Draft Additional Protocol on Combating Terrorism. Upon our approval, this important document will be signed by the Ministers of Interior some time during the first half of the next year.

I would like to stress that even though the Black Sea region is already facing these challenges in their full range, they are not exclusive to this area and should be addressed in the wider Europe context. In this regard, the idea of establishment of the community, which is based on common interest between the European Union and the BSEC countries, gains additional accent. Stronger integration into the European Architecture, development of effective partnership with the EU is one of priorities for our Organization. It is common knowledge that an active EU-BSEC cooperation would serve as a useful means for the regional transformation to an area of stability and democracy. The success of the BSEC is in the interest of greater Europe.

Mr. Chairman,

We are all aware that our region has been plagued by tensions and conflicts. Yet, BSEC was conceived to promote regional economic cooperation and not to settle disputes. We have other organizations suitable for such kind of purposes. However, I would like to reiterate our position, that successful economic collaboration can, over time, become an effective vehicle to resolve persisting frictions. I am confident, that pragmatic approach to the regional cooperation in the Black Sea Area will help to establish a constructive political dialogue which will lay a foundation stone for the dignified future of our part of the world. Investments in regional programs and projects will, simultaneously, become investments in the future stability and security of our region.

Dear colleagues,

I am convinced that this meeting will make a considerable contribution to our cooperation on the grounds of openness, predictability, accountability and mutual advantage.

Thank you.