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Yushchenko calls on Black Sea region countries to cooperate in energy

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has called on the countries of the Black Sea region to step up energy cooperation through taking a more active role in the formation or the European energy security strategy.

Yushchenko was speaking at the newly established Black Sea Forum "For Dialogue and Partnership" in Bucharest on June 5. To step up in the energy sector, Ukraine offers to set up within the commonwealth of Democratic Choice a new consultative mechanism - The Energy Dialogue of the Three Seas, he said. The body would coordinate energy policies in the region and consider important projects in the sector.

"It will help us improve cooperation between the countries of the Black Sea, Baltic-Caspian region and the EuropeanUnion and also unite energy suppliers, transporters, and consumers," he said.

In his speech, Yushchenko said the dynamics of the hydrocarbon market made it imperative to diversify energy supplies and open new transportation routes in Central Asia. He welcomed the recent launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, describing it as "an important event of global significance."

In Bucharest, Yushchenko met with Romanian President Traian Basescu. They discussed economic and political relations between their countries and also considered ways to resolve their country's most pressing bilateral problems. The two leaders then discussed ways to complete the navigable canal from the Canube to the Black Sea.

The presidents of Romania, Azerbaijan, Armenian, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, as well as officials from Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Russia signed an official document during the Black Sea Forum's summit in Bucharest on June 5. The document paves the way for broader cooperation between the region's countries and the European Union.

"The parties agreed to cooperate with the EU in order to be able to begin applying the EU's policy and financial instruments, including the European Neighbourhood Policy and EU pre-accession policies, throughout our region starting from 2007," the document reads. The participants in the summit also pledged to stimulate regional cooperation "in crisis management, civil emergency planning, post-conflict construction and environmental protection."

Commerce

July / August 2006

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