Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would first like to join the distinguished ministers and colleagues, who took the floor before me in thanking Minister Poposki for hosting this Meeting in this beautiful city of Ohrid. I am pretty sure that I will come again to enjoy this history and culture-rich city in the future.

At the outset, I would like to convey the best wishes My Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who was regrettably not able to attend this Meeting due to his other engagements.

I want to congratulate our gracious host Macedonia for the conclusion of the Chairmanship-in-Office of the SEECP and I wish every success to the upcoming Romanian Chairmanship. Turkey will continue to closely cooperate with our Romanian friends to ensure that SEECP remains the unique forum for fostering regional cooperation, dialogue and good neighborly relations among our respective countries.

I believe that such gatherings help us a lot to find ways to both overcome the legacy of the past and to respond to the challenges of the future. We cannot remain captive of the past as we build the future. The Balkans needs a common vision for the future as we venture to address the challenges of the era.

Before addressing the main item on our agenda regarding European integration perspective, let me share with you our optimism for our common future, in light of the recent positive developments in the Balkans.

There is a positive momentum emerging in the region, which should not be missed. Here, first of all, I want to congratulate Croatia for its accession to the EU as of 1st of July. Moreover, following the historic breakthrough in Serbia-Kosovo relations, hopes have been substantially raised for the European integration of Serbia and Kosovo. President Izetbegovic’s historic visit toBelgrade and President Nikolic’s apologetic statement on Srebrenica came as bold steps taken in the right direction. I would like to add the successful Third Trilateral Summit among Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia held on 14-15 May in Ankara also to those recent positive events. I also wish to underline of another breakthrough, which is the participation of Kosovo in the RCC under its own name with the foot-note formula and we congratulate once again all who enabled this commendable result.

I am pleased to welcome Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Petrit Selimi, who is among us today. This shows that Macedonia’s commendable efforts werenot in vein. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity to have a Summit meeting due to the reasons we all know very well. However this must not discourage us to try again under the Romanian Chairmanship and we must also instruct our Political Directors to work on Kosovo’s inclusion in the SEECP to enable our forum to embrace every one of us.

Distinguished Ministers,
Dear Friends,

Let me now dwell on the economic situation in our region. The global economic crisis that has been going on since 2008 and the ensuing Euro zone crisis not only affected our individual countries but also adversely influenced the relationship between the EU and the Balkan countries considerably and highlighted the need for a deeper regional cooperation within institutions such as the SEECP and the RCC.

Another crucial challenge which we face in the region as a natural consequence of the global economic crisis concerns the very high unemployment and poverty rates in Europe which call for the adoption and implementation of policies for striking viable balances between economic interests and social realities. Generating jobs especially for the youth is key to economic recovery and social cohesion. Reforming the labor market and improving the quality of labor skills are essential for job creation.

We all need foreign direct investment in our countries to dissipate the adverse effects of the economic crisis. It is no secret that investors and businessmen are no friends of instability. What they need is political stability, functioning legal and bureaucratic institutions and economic incentives.

We are confident that the recent positive political climate in the region coupled with right economic policies will attract more investors into our region.

Turkey’s vision for the Balkans is to bring all the countries of the region under the EU and NATO umbrellas through concerted efforts which we honestly believe will happen sooner or later.

As we all agree, the European Union should remain focused on the European perspectives of all Balkan countries and continue with its commitments reflected in its enlargement policy.

The fact that Croatia will join the EU next month is a strong signal for keeping the momentum for the European integration.

The continuing EU accession negotiations of Turkey and Montenegro, positive reports of the European Commission for Serbia and Kosovo following the Belgrade-Pristina Agreement facilitated by the EU and the strong EU perspectives of the remaining Balkan countries at different levels, should also make us more optimistic for a common future within the European Union.

As far as Turkey is concerned, we have the longest standing relationship with the European Union. Despite the decreasing support in the public opinion, EU membership has always been a strategic goal for successive Turkish governments. Regardless of the end result of our accession process, my Government continues to make progress in its reform agenda, the latest example of which is the drafting of a new Constitution at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. On the economic front, we have already fulfilled most of the Maastricht Criteria as opposed to some Union members. We know that we are all in the same European boat and have to work together in charting our common future. I am also aware that this is a feeling shared across the entire Balkan region. Now we expect the EU to demonstrate a similar commitment and pave the way for future enlargements.

We must admit that the integration perspectives for the European and Euro-Atlantic structures have been the overwhelming impulse for progress for most political and economic stakeholders in the Balkans.

However, as a country experiencing a tedious trajectory since decades, allow me to remind you that this is not a seamless process free of political obstacles.

Distinguished Ministers,
Dear Colleagues,

The SEECP is the only home-grown initiative in the region that has proved its importance and effectiveness over the years. Therefore, we have to spare no effort to render it more relevant in the political, economic and socio-cultural life of our region.

Managing our regional cooperation in a way that pays real dividends to our peoples is particularly important at a time when the global economy is passing through challenging and difficult times.

That’s why we must be cognizant of the need for a reassessment towards strengthening our cooperation within the SEECP in order to face the new challenges more efficiently. I am pleased to note that the SEECP Political Directors have agreed on the establishment of an Ad hoc Expert Group to exchange views and to make concrete proposals to render our Forum more effective and result-oriented. This endeavour will make the SEECP more efficient to face the new challenges ahead as we approach the 20th Anniversary of the Foundation of the SEECP.

The two documents, namely the “Ohrid Declaration” and “Joint Statement”, which contain so many useful elements, should be adopted at this Ministerial meeting.

Here, I would also like to draw attention to our Parliamentary Presidents’ wise decision to inaugurate the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly during the Romanian Chairmanship, which is fully in line with the thinking in our Forum.

We believe that it is the right moment for the SEECP to shift the gear from the phase of dealing with crises and tensions into the phase of focusing on genuine cooperation and tangible projects for our next generations. In this regard it is in the interest of all our countries to make this process more effective, functional and strong.

Dear Ministers,

At this point, we need to pause and ask ourselves the question of what role we envisage for the region. We agree with you all that the European integration is a must. However, the picture will not be completed if we do not have an institutionalized and streamlined regional ownership to deal with the responsibilities that rest on our shoulders. Let me be very clear that when we are referring to institutionalization, we do not envision a cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus. This is definitely not our aim.

The Balkans deserves to be the engine of Europe, not only for further promotion of inter-ethnic, inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony, tolerance and peaceful co-habitation, but also for dynamism in all fields of economy.

Our region has a lot of potential yet to be tapped. We have the means to resolve and transform our region surrounded by the waters of Danube, Black Sea, Aegean and Adriatic into zone of prosperity and welfare.

It is also of paramount importance that NATO as well as the EU continues to keep their doors open to all Balkan countries.

With this understanding, Turkey will continue to play its share to help cement the existing spirit of cooperation in South East Europe and make this region an integral part of the Europe.

In concluding my remarks, let me once again thank our generous host, the Macedonian SEECP Chairmanship-in Office for its valuable efforts and wish success to Romania, the upcoming SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office, which I am sure, will bring our Process to new heights.

Thank you.