The CEI-Executive Secretariat took part in the 16th Coordination Meeting of Regional Organisations held at the Permanent International Secretariat of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), in Istanbul, Türkiye on 8 December.
The event, held on a rotating basis, was also attended by the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII) and the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat (UFM Secretariat), with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub as special guest. It gave participants the chance to present their respective activities in promoting regional dialogue and cooperation and exchange views and good practices with focus on blue economy activities, climate change and UN SDGs’ implementation. This, to guarantee joint complementary actions in areas of mutual interest.
SG Ambassador Lazar Comanescu - who opened the roundtable - presented the BSEC activities and underlined the importance of synergies especially in the current unpredictable times for the regions covered by the organisations - with numerous countries and challenges in common.
DSG Nina Kodelja illustrated, in particular, the political focus of the CEI: tackling the ripple effects of the war on Ukraine; further promoting the European integration, as one of the main pillars of the CEI’s mission, also building upon the fact that all CEI Member States were involved in the EU enlargement process; and the sustainable development, in relation to the strengthening of activities with the UN and the contribution of the CEI to the implementation of the SDGs.
Senior Executive Officer Lidija Arsova presented examples of recent regional activities financed by the CEI Cooperation Fund, aimed at promoting the blue economy and climate change, both in line with the CEI PoA goal 1 “stimulating green growth” as well as other project activities in these same fields in the framework of the CEI Fund at the EBRD and EU-funded projects.
After the presentation of their respective activities participants agreed that there were numerous possibilities for enhancing cooperation, and to continue the exchange on a regular basis also in-between meetings; they also decided on the venue of the meetings for the next two years: in Ancona, hosted by the AII in 2023 and in Trieste, hosted by the CEI in 2024.
For more info: arsova@cei.int
