Your Excellencies,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a real pleasure for me to be here with you today and address such a distinguished audience.

First of all, I would like to thank the Secretary General, Ambassador L.Chryssanthopoulos and the BSEC PERMIS staff for the excellent cooperation with the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thank you all for your warm welcome.

The morning session of the Coordination meeting with the participation of the Committee of Senior Officials, the BSEC Related Bodies and BSEC PERMIS, was an opportunity to further discuss and exchange views on the BSEC Calendar during our Chairmanship-in-Office.

The central theme of our Chairmanship-in-Office is “Black Sea turns Green.” This is not based on a narrow view of environmental sensitivity; it is a development-oriented choice based on the firm belief that streamlining green technology, proper resource management and environmental stability, can and will be a platform for regional cooperation, business, entrepreneurship and employment creation.

Add to this that by streamlining development to environmental protection, we conserve and put to value the comparative advantages of our region, its landscapes, its sea, its freshwater, its biodiversity, the basis for its future development through tourism, agriculture, fisheries etc.

The Greek Chairmanship in Office emblem represents a heron, carved on a signet by the engraver Dexamenus from the Greek island of Chios. It dates back to the 5th Century BC and was excavated at the strait of Kerch which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The emblem refers to the always existing interaction and cooperation among the peoples of the Black Sea broader area and also conveys the message about environmental awareness and green development.

We intend to introduce the turn towards a future-oriented, green development agenda, an economy that invests and takes steps forward, by incorporating modern approaches for environmentally sound growth, into the areas of cooperation within the framework of BSECe. Closer cooperation among the BSEC member states in order to draw mutual benefits are envisaged in a broad spectrum of fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, water management and wastewater treatment, waste management, sustainable tourism and others. We believe that the BSEC area has the natural resources and the know-how to become one of the most significant players at a worldwide level.

The Greek Chairmanship in Office will invest targeted effort to reaching a common, regional view, which will be based on the need for adaptation plans, low-carbon solutions, and a turn to green development that should be our region’s contribution to the upcoming UNFCCC conference in Mexico next December.

The main topic of the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the end of the Hellenic Chairmanship-in-Office will be “Green Development and Enterpreneurship.”

Furthermore, in accordance with our central theme, we intend to host a Meeting of Ministers of Energy, with a particular focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency, but not neglecting the broader energy issues which are of high importance in our region, and call for increased cooperation.

Economic relations in our region are based not only on common interest and geographic proximity, but also on our historical relations and cultural ties. The exchange of peoples in the region that can be promoted through an enhanced, sustainable tourism, will not only contribute to economic growth, but will also increase coherence and cooperation in the region. Bearing this in mind, Greece shall host a Ministerial Meeting of the Ministers of Tourism and Culture, where a common agenda on target-oriented action and will be the objective.

In the context of green development, a range of events around this theme are included in the BSEC Calendar; to name just a few, the Business Forum on the promotion of Green Development and Entrepreneurship with the participation of the private sector and the First Black Sea Partnership Forum on Eco-compatible Construction Materials are both envisaged to take place in Greece during our Chairmanship.

During the Greek Chairmanship in Office, we intend to promote the project-oriented character of our Organization. The Hellenic Republic intends to accelerate the implementation of the two major projects of the BSEC, the Black Sea Ring Highway and the “Motorways of the Sea.” Supporting the work of the joint Permanent Secretariat of the Black Sea Ring Highway, based in Thessaloniki, and accelerating the works of the ad hoc working group for the Development of the Motorways of the Sea in the Black Sea region, is of major importance for their implementation.

Furthermore, in this context, the Hellenic Republic has concluded the necessary preparations and the BSEC Hellenic Development Fund, an additional financial instrument for BSEC projects of regional character, has become operational. The first call for proposals of the BSEC Hellenic Development Fund, in the field of the renewable energy sources, has already been launched since last February. We expect that the operation of this Fund will contribute to the economic and social development of the wider Black Sea area and hope that this first call for proposals will generate increased interest for the activities of the BSEC Organization.

The Hellenic Republic, as an EU and BSEC member state, will work towards the enhancement of cooperation with the European Union. It is our firm belief that BSEC-EU interaction can evolve into a mutually advantageous relationship that will bring tangible results to the BSEC area. In particular, within the framework of the “Black Sea Synergy” process, the Hellenic Republic will proceed with the launching of the sector partnership in Transport. We will try to promote the BSEC-EU dialogue through Meetings in Brussels in the framework of COEST Working Party.

As for the sectoral cooperation, we intend to focus on energy, environmental protection, culture and tourism, small and medium enterprises, science and technology, trade and economic development, agriculture.

Bearing in mind that the world economy has considerably changed since the BSEC Economic Agenda for the Future was adopted in 2001, we intend to launch a process, with the contribution of the ICBSS and all the Member States, in order to update it. The intention is to reach a point of maturity which will allow for the adoption of a new Economic Agenda that will reflect the challenges that the economies of the BSEC region are currently faced with.

The Hellenic Republic is the Country-Coordinator of the Working Group on Small and Medium Enterprises. We believe that green development will benefit not only the environment in our neighbourhood, but can also enhance the competitiveness the Small and Medium Enterprises of our region, particularly at the current difficult economic juncture.

Greece, as of July 1, will also be the Country-Coordinator of the Working Group on Science and Technology. The BSEC region has a lot of potential that needs to be strengthened, stimulated and exploited so that the turn towards new, green technologies can be developed within the region, and the dynamic human resource can be put to value, avoiding a brain-drain that has a long term impact on the region.

On the occasion of the Hellenic Chairmanship, the Ministry of Rural Development and Food will host the Meeting of the Working Group on Agriculture and Agro-Industry in Thessaloniki focusing, among others, on issues of food safety and food quality, monitoring of food supply chain and water management techniques.  

During our Chairmanship-in-Office, we intend to look into the required institutional amendments, in order to strengthen the financial rules in the BSEC.

We will work closely with the Related Bodies of our Organization. The Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC, the BSEC Business Council, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies are a key component of the day-to-day action in the region, by preparing, analyzing and providing input for the development objectives, cooperation and the involvement of public and private actors in the region. We believe, the responsibility lies with the Member States, at the political level, to ensure their smooth, efficient, and economically viable operation.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We commit ourselves to work hard and achieve tangible results during the Hellenic Chairmanship-in-Office. We rely on your cooperation to this end.

Thank you.