Romaniaâs Parliament Palace in Bucharest hosts starting Monday the summit of the Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership, or BSFDP.
The event is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the high patronage of the Romanian President and will be attended by numerous officials of the Black Sea countries, and of the European Union Member States and United States of America.
This is an ambitious Romanian initiative to raise the profile of the Black Sea region, turn the attention of the international community on it, and re-define the Black Sea not as a divider, but as a uniter of countries.
The countries attending the BSFDP in Bucharest are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania and Russia (as observer).
Romaniaâs minister of foreign affairs Mihai Razvan Ungureanu was undeterred by skeptics, and supported all along that the value of the Forum will be proven with time.
Ungureanu answered the questions asked by Jurnalul national daily.
Jurnalul national: International wire services are carrying a lot of stories about Romania organizing the Black Sea Forum. Why is that so important? Mihai Razvan Ungureanu: The first reason why the forum is important stays in long standing concerns with this region and its strategic neighborhood. Second, this is a political first: never before had assembled around the same table the leaders of the countries neighboring the Black Sea. And third, the aim of the meeting is only to identify the mutual points of interest for economic and environment projects to be conducted jointly.
This is a region which did not have an identity of its own, in which the Black Sea unites, not divides. From January 1, 2007 on, the European Union will neighbor not only the Mediterranean Sea, but also the Black Sea. This will raise legitimate questions
