Turkish presidency of SEECP pledges to promote convergence of member states to EU

“During the last decade, the countries from Southeastern Europe made progress in development. However, certain problems can be solved only if the countries cooperate,” Turkish Foreign Minister Egemen Bagis said at a news conference in Chisinau on Thursday. The conference was held on the occasion of the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), Info-Prim Neo reports. “We are contented that the countries from this region strengthen cooperation with the European and Euro-Atlantic organizations in order to obtain stability and prosperity,” Egemen Bagis said. He added that while Turkey will hold the SEECP presidency, it will promote the convergence of the member states to the European Union. Turkey is finalizing a schedule of events that will center on the economies, foreign trade, energy, transport, labor market and social security of the Southeastern European states. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Liobomir Kiuciukov described the discussions held during the meeting as ‘neoregionalism’. “This neoregionalism shows that there is a spirit and mutual understanding that can help solve many problems faced by the states from the region. We need this new cooperation spirit in order to tackle problems related to energy security, combating of crime, infrastructure and environment protection. All these problems do not stop at the border of a country. Through cooperation, we will be able to cope with the world economic crisis. The regional cooperation should be also strengthened,” Liobomir Kiuciukov said. “The documents approved at the meeting aim to strengthen the political cooperation in Southeastern Europe. They reassert the commitments of the Southeastern European countries to strengthen and promote the cooperation process,” said Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan. Among these documents are the yearly report of the secretary general of the Regional Cooperation Council, the strategic work program of the Regional Cooperation Council for 2009-2010, the report of the current Moldovan Presidency of the SEECP, the political statement of the SEECP meeting in Chisinau and the Chisinau joint statement of the heads of state and government. The SEECP meeting continues today with the summit of the SEECP heads of state and government. At this summit, Moldova will hand over the SEECP presidency to Turkey.