GUAM IS SPROUTING ROOTS

In today's world regional organisations, within the frameworks of which countries get political and economic co-operation going, as well as presenting a united front within major international structures, are acquiring ever-greater importance. Over the last few years the growing importance of one of these regional structures, the GUAM [Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova] Organization for Democracy and Economic Development can increasingly be seen. The organization's Secretary General, Valeri Chechelashvili, has spoken to Regionplus about its development objectives.

- You recently discussed the implementation of the programme relating to the GUAM states' presidency with the Georgian foreign minister. Have there been any changes in the Georgian government's stance regarding GUAM since the parliamentary elections in 2012?

-Georgia has consistently expressed its willingness to promote co-operation within the GUAM framework. These views are reflected in the president's proposed programme embracing new initiatives, which was put forward by Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze at the meeting of GUAM foreign ministers in the Irish capital, Dublin, on 7 December 2012.

-What steps do the GUAM states propose taking to achieve a settlement of the international conflicts in the South Caucasus and Moldova?

- GUAM's stance is based on the approaches and principles reflected in the 23rd-May-2006 Joint Declaration of heads of state of the GUAM Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development on the issue of conflict settlement.

Our organization regards its contribution as that of putting forward a draft UN resolution on "Protracted Conflicts in the GUAM area and their implications for international peace, security and development", which is founded on the norms and principles of international law. At the last sitting of the Council of GUAM Foreign Ministers in Dublin on 7 December 2012, agreement was reached on this draft resolution and on holding consultations on this issue with the GUAM's main member-states. This resolution will be presented to the UN General Assembly for consideration in the future.

- One of GUAM's objectives was the integration of the member-countries' transport networks and the creation of a transport corridor. What stage is this project currently at?

-A sitting of the department heads of the Working Group for Transport was held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on 13 February 2013. The Tbilisi Declaration of Heads of GUAM States' Institutions Responsible for Transport Development was adopted during this session. The concept of developing a GUAM transport corridor was also approved; this concept aimed at making the transport corridor more appealing has been worked out by our countries' experts and embraces the basic ideas for further developing the corridor. This concept will provide a good foundation for initiating new transport projects based on the participation of GUAM states and states affiliated to GUAM [GUAM-plus states].

A routine Transport Working Group meeting is also scheduled, at which the participants will be able to consider the proposals regarding new transport projects, proceeding from the concept adopted.

-What are the organization's plans for 2013 in the power-engineering sector and with relation to the GUAM-plus project?

-We are seriously working on this. Within the framework of co-operation with Japan in the GUAM-plus format, our Japanese colleagues proposed organizing a seminar on power-engineering safety for GUAM states' experts, which took place on 15-23 January 2012.

Drawing on the information obtained during the seminar, the Power-Engineering Working Group's participants came to an agreement on requesting the Japanese to compile charts indicating alternative sources of energy for the GUAM states. Within the framework of GUAM-Japan co-operation the Japanese proposed arranging a seminar for the GUAM states with the assistance of the Hungarian branch of the Regional Environmental Centre in Central and Eastern Europe (REC). At the seventh sitting of the Power Engineering Working Group held in collaboration with REC in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on 4-5 March this year, those attending the meeting agreed to hold the above-mentioned seminar at the GUAM Secretariat in October. Organizational issues relating to preparations for this seminar are currently being examined.

Besides the above-mentioned power-engineering-related project with Japan, we are also working together in the agricultural sphere. Our experts returned from Japan quite recently, where they attended an agriculture seminar. In future, the experience gained during the seminar, will be used to promote new objectives in this field. The GUAM-Japan tourism-related project has been brought to a successful conclusion. The working groups for culture [science and education] and for tourism are going to meet in Kiev in the very near future to discuss this project's outcome and, on the basis of the latter, set new tourism-related projects in motion which are to envelop the markets of other states.

GUAM is also further promoting its co-operation with the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Road Transport Union (IRU), as well as with our traditional partner, the USA. Last year a protocol of intent was signed with the Southeast European Law-Enforcement Centre (SELEC); this co-operation will be advantageous to both organizations. In future GUAM will strive to boost co-operation with other international, regional and non-governmental organisations, which are interested in partnerships.