The Ninth Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Of

Doc.GA22/REP/9BSEC/MFA/03

THE TWENTY SECOND PLENARY SESSION OF THE PABSEC GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Ninth Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member-States Baku, 31 October 2003 The Ninth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in Baku on 31 October 2003. The PABSEC was represented by Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, Head of the PABSEC Azerbaijani Delegation, Mr. Shaidtin Aliyev, Chairman of the PABSEC Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee and the PABSEC Secretary General. The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Vilayat Guliyev, the BSEC Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He informed the Meeting on the decisions adopted by the Council at in camera consultations prior to the 9th meeting of the Council which took decision on all debatable issues. He also informed that Azerbaijan will assume the next six months’ term Chairmanship in the BSEC. The Ministers and the Heads of the delegations marked the importance of the day due to the inauguration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and congratulated the whole Azerbaijani people with the event. In the general statements they noted the determination towards further enhancement of the scope of the multilateral cooperation with a view of newly established Project Development Fund and strengthening the relations with the European Union within the context of the EU enlargement towards the Black Sea region. At the same time, all the speakers noted the constructive role of the Parliamentary Assembly in deepening cooperation in the region and the efforts by the Assembly and its President for expanding cooperation with other regional organizations and particularly with the European Parliament. In his speech the Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs underlined that the term Chairmanship of Bulgaria in OSCE, commitments by Bulgaria for accession to the EU and the forthcoming NATO membership overloading the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria were the reasons preventing Bulgaria from assuming the BSEC Chairmanship. Mr. Aliyev in his speech congratulated the Azerbaijani BSEC Chairmanship with the successful term and the immense work done with a view of pragmatic and innovative approach for more flexible and efficient multilateral cooperation between and among the BSEC countries. He underlined the efforts by the Assembly through its activities as a forum of inter-parliamentary dialogue vis-à-vis the contemporary challenges. He noted the appreciation by PABSEC towards the special emphasis put by the BSEC within past six months’ time upon the cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, combating crime, visa facilitation, emergency assistance, etc. On behalf of the Assembly he expressed particular thanks to the BSEC for elaboration of the important legal instruments – already signed Host Country Agreement and the Protocol Concerning Privileges and Immunities of the PABSEC opened for the signatures. At the same time, he noted the importance of strengthening cooperation between the PABSEC and the European Parliament with a view to developing bilateral relations at a time when the European Union undergoes further enlargement involving some BSEC member states and when the BSEC is placing relations with the European Union among its high priorities. The secretaries general of the BSEC Business Council, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and the Director of the International Center for Black Sea Studies informed the Council on the activities carried out during the past six months’ period and spoke about the future plans and activities. In their presentations the observer countries - Republic of Austria and the State of Israel - noted the role of the BSEC in the region. The guests from the European Commission and the BSEC-URTA informed about the cooperation with the BSEC and expressed hope for further cooperation in organizing various joint projects. PABSEC-BSEC interaction. The Council of Ministers adopted important Resolutions and Recommendations concerning the BSEC-PABSEC Interaction, which stands as follows: “ I. RESOLUTIONS: Protocol concerning the Privileges and Immunities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) 22. The Council welcomed the finalization of the Protocol Concerning the Privileges and Immunities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) and decided to open it for signature by the BSEC Member States. III. RECOMMENDATIONS: BSEC-PABSEC INTERACTION PABSEC recommendations 52. The Council took note of the following PABSEC Recommendations: - Recommendation 68/2003 on “Cooperation in the Field of Energy”; - Recommendation 69/2003 on “Cooperation among the PABSEC Member- Countries in Strengthening Good Governance”; - Recommendation 70/2003 on “Role of Culture in the Development of the BSEC Region”; - Recommendation 71/2003 on “Black Sea Informational Alliance”. 53. The Council welcomed the cooperation between the PABSEC and the European Parliament, which has been impressively upgraded recently and expressed the hope that it will promote the BSEC-EU cooperation as well. ” The Council also adopted the following Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations: I. RESOLUTIONS Review of the State of Affairs Regarding the Project Development Fund - the Council commended the start of operations of the BSEC Project Development Fund and expressed its confidence that it will initiate the transformation of the BSEC into a

2 project-oriented Organization. The Council welcomed the transfer of 30,000 USD each by Romania, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Turkey to the account of the Project Development Fund, as well as the amount of 1,000 USD contributed by the BSEC Business Council and noted that with previous contribution of the Hellenic Republic the current amount reached 121,000 USD. The Council encouraged the other Member States to transfer their voluntary contributions at their earliest convenience. The Council welcomed the first Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Fund on 14-15 July 2003 and took note of the consensus reached regarding the necessity to improve and streamline the regulatory framework of the Project Development Fund. Strengthening the institutional capacity of the BSEC in line with the Provisions of the BSEC Decennial Summit and the BSEC Economic Agenda - the Council decided to launch a general discussion on the issue and instructed the Working Group on Organizational Matters to elaborate on the issue and submit its proposals to the Committee of Senior Officials. Appointment of the Deputy Secretary General to the BSEC PERMIS – this issue turned to be most complicated for taking a decision. Following the inconclusive vote at the Meeting of the Senior Officials and the insistent stand by the Russian delegation at the informal consultations preceding the Meeting of the Council of Ministers the whole chapter with ten paragraphs envisaging the amendments to the Rules of Procedure, the Staff Regulations and the Job Descriptions changing procedures for appointments in the BSEC PERMIS of the personnel under the D and P categories were excluded from the resolutions of the 9th Council of Ministers. Following the termination of office of the present Deputy Secretary General on 31 October 2003 the post remained vacant. The issue was decided to be taken up again in the future. The institution of Country-Coordinator – the Council appointed the Russian Federation as Country-Coordinator to the Working Group on Health Care and Pharmaceutics and to the Working Group on Trade and Economic Development for the period October 2003-September 2005. The Council called upon the Member States to mobilize their relevant national authorities in order to submit their candidacies for the Working Groups on Cooperation in Science and Technology and on Exchange of Statistical Data and Economic Information at the next Meeting. Observer Status - the Council discussed the issue regarding the Observer Status in BSEC and decided that further consideration of the criteria for observer status is required. The Council took note of the recent application for Observer Status in BSEC of the Republic of Lithuania. The Council renewed observer status for Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Israel and the Slovak Republic for another period of two years and invited all the Observer States to intensify their participation in the BSEC activities with a view to enhancing cooperation capacity. Relations with Third Parties - the Council decided to renew for the Union of Road Transport Associations in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Region (BSEC- URTA) its status of sectoral dialogue partnership in the BSEC for another period of two years. Cooperation with international organizations and regional groupings - the Council noted with appreciation the BSEC-UN FAO cooperation especially in course of the successive implementation of the Project on “Institutional Strengthening to

3 Facilitate Intra- and Interregional Agricultural Trade among BSEC Member States” and instructed the Working Group on Agriculture and Agro-industry to discuss the final document of the Project - recommendations to the Governments with a view to present a relevant consolidated document to the Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of the BSEC Member States to be organized in due course. The Council took note of the information on cooperation with the World Bank with due regard to the “Preliminary Draft Memorandum of Understanding Between the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the World Bank”; with the CIS and TRACECA and instructed the PERMIS to continue the interaction. The Council also took note of the Draft Minutes of the Fourth Coordination Meeting of Regional Organizations, encouraged the Secretary General for further participation in the future coordination meetings and invited him to contact the organizers and adjust the text envisaging the comments by the Member States. The draft Agreement on simplification of Visa Procedures for the businessmen nationals of the BSEC member states - the Council took note that, following the invitation extended by the Eighth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Yerevan, Georgia and the Republic of Turkey expressed their readiness to sign the Agreement. Black Sea Champions’ Cup - following the Meeting of the Representatives of the National Football Associations of the Member States in Istanbul on 15 May 2003, the Council reiterated its support to the project of the Black Sea Champions’ Cup, urged the relevant authorities to undertake necessary steps towards the prompt implementation of the said project and invited the PERMIS to organize the second Meeting of Representatives of the National Football Associations. II. DECISIONS The Council adopted the reports of the Meeting of the Ministers of Energy of the BSEC Member States (Baku, 19 September 2003); of the Meeting of the Ministers of Transport of Countries of the Black Sea and Caspian Seas Region (Baku, 3 October 2003); of the International Conference on Tourism Opportunities in the BSEC Region (Baku, 25-26 September 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on SMEs (Istanbul, 21-22 May 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on Cooperation in Combating Crime, in particular in its Organized Forms (Istanbul, 9-10 June 2003, Bucharest, 6-7 October 2003); of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Expert Group on Visa Facilitation for Lorry Drivers (Istanbul, 12-13 June 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on Trade and Economic Development (Istanbul, 16-17 June 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on Organizational Matters (Istanbul, 18-19 June 2003); of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Study Group for Considering Ways and Means of Enhancing the Contribution of the BSEC to Security and Stability in the Region (Athens, 10-11 July 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on Cooperation in Emergency Assistance (Istanbul, 27-28 August 2003); of the Meeting of the Working Group on Transport (Baku, 1-2 October 2003); of the Workshop on Use of Information Resources in Internet for Start-Ups and SMEs (Moscow, 16-17 June 2003); of the BSEC Workshop “Getting the Act Together: Strengthening International Relations’ Capacities in BSEC Countries” (Baku, 22-23 September 2003). Activities of the BSEC PERMIS - the Council took note of the Progress Report of the Secretary General of the BSEC PERMIS and expressed its appreciation for the

4 work promoting the BSEC activities and the implementation of the BSEC Economic Agenda. III. RECOMMENDATIONS i. The Council took note of the activities of the Business Council over the last six months’ period and expressed its appreciation for its contribution to creating a favourable business environment in the BSEC area. The Council welcomed the participation of the BSEC BC at the “2nd International Caspian and Black Sea Oil and Gas Conference” held on 27-28 May 2003 in Istanbul and commended the high-quality information on the Black Sea region through the Internet site of the BSEC BC. ii. The Council welcomed the successful organization by the BSTDB of the 4th Black Sea Business Day and the Business Conference on “Promoting Investments in Ukraine”; signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission, the BSTDB and seven other International Financial Institutions (World Bank, IFC, IBRD and EBRD among them) on “Cooperation for Accession Countries of Central and East European Countries, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey” and appreciated the Bank's effort for publishing quarterly edition of the Black Sea Newsletter. iii. The Council appreciated the ICBSS activities and expressed support to the efforts for elaboration of a regional energy strategy and promotion of academic and technological cooperation recommending that the both above studies should be done in close collaboration with the relevant BSEC Working Groups. The Council encouraged the initiation of a study by ICBSS in cooperation with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) on the EU new neighbourhood policy and its impact on the BSEC and the BSEC – EU relationship. The Council also welcomed the organization by the ICBSS of the Second Meeting of the Ad hoc Study Group for Considering Ways and Means of Enhancing Contribution of the BSEC to Strengthening Security and Stability in the Region, the Milos Conference on “The New European Architecture for the 21st Century - Promoting Regional Cooperation in the Wider Black Sea Area: The BSEC Case” and the valuable contribution by the ICBSS in organizing of the Baku Workshop “Getting the act together: strengthening international relations’ capacities in BSEC countries” and the Chisinau “Interregional seminar on education, science, and technological transfer in the BSEC region in the light of globalization: aspects of integration”. IV. OTHER ISSUES The Council took note of the information by the Delegation of the Republic of Armenia on organisation of the “Black Sea Regional Civil Society Forum” in Yerevan on 3-5 December 2003 hosted by Mission Armenia NGO.

After conclusion of the Meeting, the Ministers and the Heads of the Delegations signed the Protocol concerning the Privileges and Immunities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), which will be duly forwarded by the BSEC PERMIS to the national parliaments for ratification.