Excellencies,

Mr. Secretary General,

Distinguished Participants,

As the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, I am pleased to welcome you all here in Istanbul. It is a great pleasure for me to address such a distinguished audience.
His Excellency Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, asked me to convey his best wishes and greetings to all of you.

First of all, let me congratulate the new Secretary General of BSEC, Ambassador Victor Tvircun and the First Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Ahmet Erozan, and wish them every success in their efforts in the realization of the goals and objectives of BSEC and to ensure an efficient functioning of the BSEC Permanent Secretariat, towards this end. I would also like to thank and congratulate the staff of BSEC PERMIS for their hard work and the cooperation which they have displayed to my Ministry.

Our Organization was launched twenty years ago as a regional initiative with the vision of promoting peace, stability, dialogue and prosperity in the Black Sea region, by means of economic cooperation.

During its twenty-years, BSEC has become a project-oriented and result-based Organization. It has been the origin of many the ideas that shape policy in the region.

We have recently marked the 20th Anniversary of BSEC in Istanbul. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all BSEC member states for reaffirming their valuable contributions and commitment, at the highest level, to our Organization.

As a founding member and the host country of BSEC, Turkey will do its utmost to achieve the common goals and progressing our cooperation on the priority areas identified in the 20th Anniversary Istanbul Summit Declaration. One of the most important conclusions of the Summit, in our view, concerns the commitment to consolidate the role of the BSEC as a proactive, constructive and reliable actor in regional and international affairs. Therefore, we will pay special attention to strengthening our cooperation with our international partners such as the United Nations, European Union, OECD as well as with the BSEC observers and sectoral dialogue partners, with a view to increasing the potential of the Black Sea region.

Distinguished participants,

The global economy remains in a difficult phase. The risks remain significant. Growth is slowing in both advanced and emerging economies and some regions are likely to be in a recession. We are all aware that the global repercussions of the crisis in Europe could be painful if things get worse. This increased uncertainty amplifies the need for strengthened policy actions and greater ability to provide regional responses to global challenges.

With this in mind, BSEC’s new strategy appears especially timely. The updated “Economic Agenda Towards an Enhanced Partnership” was endorsed at the Istanbul Summit, in June. In line with the priority areas of action redefined at the new Economic Agenda, the Turkish Chairmanship-in-Office is determined to make every effort for the preparation of an action plan and its effective implementation. We believe that this will help to advance our progress towards increasing intra-BSEC trade and investments, sustainable development of the BSEC region, enhancing the role of civil society, as well as institutional reform of BSEC by initiating new projects and ideas.

Distinguished participants,

The BSEC region, which connects strategic transportation and trade routes as well as crucial energy corridors, located at the heart of Eurasia, presents vast opportunities to the interest of our people.
Accordingly, the main theme of the Turkish Chairmanship-in-Office will be “From regional cooperation to a zone of prosperity in the Black Sea Area”.

This theme will provide a comprehensive vision to activate our potential for achieving closer cooperation, greater stability and prosperity in the BSEC region.

During the Coordination Meeting held in the morning, with the participation of the Committee of Senior Officials, BSEC Related Bodies and the BSEC PERMIS, you have discussed and exchanged views on the BSEC Calender of Events during our Chairmanship-in-Office. We have also developed a website for the Turkish Chairmanship-in Office of BSEC, “(http://bsec.mfa.gov.tr/default.tr.mfa)” , which will be fully operational, by the end of this week. You will be able to find update information on the calendar of events and activities to be carried out during this period. We look forward to your contributions, as well.

As the new Chairman-in-Office, Turkey sets its priorities on intensifying cooperation on the following areas:

Transport

In accordance with our main theme, we will host a Meeting of Ministers of Transport on the 27-28 November, coinciding with a conference organized in partnership with the International Road Union (IRU) and the UNDP. Through this we aim to motivate the political will by the member states for concluding the development projects like the Black Sea Ring Highway (7.700 km long) and the Motorways of the Sea.

Stronger maritime transport links between the Black Sea ports is essential to improve the quality of life in the region. Better transport infrastructure is key to promoting intra-trade in BSEC, where 330 million people live in an area of approximately 20 million square kilometers.
 
Intra-regional Trade and Investments

During our Chairmanship-in-Office, we are determined to work towards creating a better environment for trade and investments among the BSEC countries by taking further steps on issues such as visa facilitation, elimination of non-tariff barriers and further interaction between the business communities of member states. Several activities promoting public-private partnership on this sector will be organized during our term of office. These are included in the BSEC Calendar of Events.

Furthermore, setting up an efficient BSEC mechanism for the exchange of information is essential for promoting intra- regional trade and investments. In this context, we are willing to re-activate the BSEC Coordination Center for the Exchange of Statistical Data and Information established within the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Our proposal for the city of Bursa to host a BSEC Trade Center will be revitalized. Within this framework, the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Bursa, in cooperation with TOBB (The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey), is planning to organize a workshop, in Bursa, towards December. We support the establishment of similar Trade Centers in all BSEC member countries.

Sustainable Energy

The well-being of our people depends not only on economic growth, but also on responsible management of our natural resources. Energy security is obviously a priority for all of us, yet we need to use limited energy resources responsibly and react to the threat of climate change with clean energy policies. Sustainable development goes hand-in-hand with the need to fuel our economies.

We intend to increase the level of cooperation between BSEC members for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency, through common projects.

Combating Organized Crime, Illegal Trafficking of Drugs and Weapons, Terrorism, Corruption and Money Laundering

In today’s fast changing economic, social and political environment, terrorism and organized crime have become major sources of concern in our region. We intend to host a Ministerial Meeting to establish common approaches and methods towards fighting organized crime, illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons and terrorism in the BSEC region.

Education and Involvement of Youth and Civil Society

One of the important goals of the Turkish Chairmanship is to promote cooperation among scholars, academicians and scientists of the Member States. We believe that cooperation between universities should be enhanced in the BSEC region. Turkey finds it essential to establish a “Black Sea Economic Cooperation Institute” for master and postgraduate studies that will help us achieve our goals in this field and provide a better environment for interdisciplinary studies. A workshop concerning the establishment of such an Institute will be organized by TEPAV (Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey) during the Turkish Chairmanship.

Furthermore, in this context, we intend to organize a training program for Junior Diplomats from the BSEC Member States at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During our Chairmanship-in-Office, we shall endeavor for involvement of civil society organizations including business communities and academicians in the BSEC activities in order to enhance understanding and solidarity among our peoples. Business organizations such as the chambers of commerce, employers’ organizations and trade unions should also be encouraged to cooperate in order to leverage regional solutions for common problems.

Scientific Research and Technology

Taking into consideration the recent technological developments, we should focus on capacity improvement, research infrastructure and innovation. BSEC has to benefit from technological innovations among the BSEC Member States, and other partners. Moreover, we should also allow innovation to move more quickly across borders. Cooperation in science and technology by disseminating success stories and best practices is key to enhance productivity.

The Meeting of the Ministers in charge of Science and Technology to be convened during the Turkish Chairmanship will contribute to creating better conditions for effective interaction among Member States on innovative projects in this area.

The First Annual BSEC High Level Tax Forum

Excellencies,

International tax rules are often the most technically difficult provisions of a country’s tax system. International taxation experts must not only understand the tax rules of their own country, but should also have knowledge of other countries’ laws and practices.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation Tax Forum, which will be hosted by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Turkey, in Antalya, during the last week of November will be organized as an international gathering by senior decision makers in tax policy and administration from BSEC region, including finance ministers, tax experts, academia, and representatives of the international organizations. The aim of the Forum is to discuss common challenges and to share best practices in taxation.

Turkey hopes that this Forum, which will be the first of its kind, becomes a regular meeting of every Chairmanship-in Office of the BSEC.

Culture and Tourism

Tourism is another priority area for cooperation within the framework of BSEC. Our region can only flourish if we can maintain the attractiveness of our towns and cities in parallel with projects that contribute to economic growth. We also need to promote cultural exchange, which is an important component for enhancing mutual understanding and cultural diversity in our region.

In order to contribute to this important mission, Turkey will organize some special events, including the Ministerial meeting, the Silk Road Workshop and Black Sea Tourism Summit.

Strengthening the Organization

The Turkish Chairmanship will try to further strengthen and consolidate BSEC through organizational reforms. We will work to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness and visibility of our Organization, including possible reforms on some of the legal framework of the BSEC. We need a strong and functioning Secretariat and institutional bodies in order to achieve our ambitious goals. We will work closely with all of the BSEC Related Bodies, including the Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC, the BSEC Business Council, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies.

We will also work towards the enhancement of cooperation with other regional organizations and initiatives. In this regard, we welcome the ongoing process of cooperation between the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations and the BSEC. The Turkish Chairmanship is ready to launch the initiative for signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Alliance of Civilizations.

Another important item on the agenda will be the joint event by BSEC and the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We need to have a clear vision and prepare BSEC so that it can meet new regional and global challenges.

Turkey believes in the BSEC mission for the future and will do its part to unlock our joint potential and bring prosperity to our region.

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to express my most sincere thanks to all of you for your presence and contributions to the achievements of BSEC. My thanks also go to the distinguished representatives of the observers and sectoral dialogue partners of BSEC.