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  • Bucharest: Black Sea Stories - Bucharest Starts The Dialogue In TheB

    BLACK SEA STORIES - BUCHAREST STARTS THE DIALOGUE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION
    de Ana Ilie
    Translated by Sorin Balan

    Jurnalul National, Romania
    June 6 2006

    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.
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