Black Sea Stories - Bucharest Starts the Dialogue in the Black Sea Region

The Black Sea Forum, initiated yesterday in Bucharest, which unites representatives of all the riparian countries and of the international organizations, was supposed to be the "beginning of a dialogue between civilizations", according to Traian Basescu.

Yesterday, Bucharest hosted the Summit for the initiation Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership, an event that brought together Presidents, External affairs Ministers, representatives of international organizations and many journalists. Like everything that is new, the Forum came with many hopes, but they can only become true if the summit in Bucharest manages to start a real interest in it.

Despite a controversial beginning, mainly because of Russia (which was quite skeptical about the summit and chose to be represented only by its Ambassador in Bucharest), the summit should have produced effervescent ideas and dialogues regarding certain issues that were supposed to result in a better collaboration between the riparian countries and in a long term security, stability and prosperity of the region.

BIG WORDS

Actually, all the participants aware of the opportunities the Black Sea is offering and of the Romanian initiative of building this Forum have said big words like "prosperity", "benefits", "common history". "Today’s event is a step forward in the process of consolidation of a prosper and developed Black Sea region", the Romanian External Affairs Minister, Razvan Ungureanu said. "The United States support the efforts for the creation of a more prosper, more free and a safer Black Sea region", Jack D. Crouch, America’s representative to the Forum, the former USA Ambassador in Romania, the current deputy adviser of President George W. Bush, added.

EXPECTATIONS

One of the hopes regarding this Forum targets the appearance of certain environments to help solving regional issues. According to Traian Basescu, the controversial Nagorno-Karabah enclave was the cause of the negotiations between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijan President Iilham Aliyev for two days. There is another issue with many hopes. It regards the Tansnistrian area and it will be taken into consideration after the forum when President Traian Basescu intends to show a 100% Romanian solution to Moscow and Chisinau.

All the participants seemed to agree upon one subject, the economical collaboration, especially the alternative transportation routes for energy, routes that should stop the appearance of a second European "war of gas". One of the few certain issues regarding yesterday’s meeting was the announcement made by the US Marshall Fund, which created the Black Sea Fund that should help financing the projects for the consolidation of democracy, good governing and the ones for the development of the regional cooperation and of the civil society in the Black Sea region.

20M USD FOR THE FUND

During the Summit of the Forum for the Black Sea Dialogue and Partnership, the United States Marshal Fund announced the initiation of the Black Sea Fund (BSF) that should help financing the projects for the consolidation of democracy, good governing and the ones for the development of the regional cooperation and of the civil society in the Black Sea region. The Marshall Fund allowed 20 million USD for the initiation and started up negotiations with the USAID, with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, with the Romanian Government and with other private and public donors in USA and Europe in order to support this initiative. "The Black Sea region is vital in order to ensure long term stability, security and peace in Europe, the United Stated and in the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. The Black Sea Fund will help ensuring progress in the region at local, national and international level", Craig Kennedy, the President of the Marshall Fund, stated according to a public statement sent to Jurnalul National. A two million USD annual fund will be available for grants between 1,000 and 75,000 USD. They will be offered to NGOs, local and regional authorities, media and education institutions in the countries that took part in the Summit of the Forum for the Black Sea Dialogue and Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavian Republic, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine), according to the same public statement. The same source says the BSF will become operational by the end of this year.

Translated by Sorin Balan