ROMANIAN PRESIDENT BASESCU RECEIVED DR.AKKAN SUVER
Dr. Akkan Suver was appointed as
the Vice-President and Founder
Member of the "International
Foundation for Cooperation and
Partnership of the Black Sea and
the Caspian Sea" which was
inaugurated in Bucharest,
Romania, on March 4, 2009.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev and President of Romania
Traian Băsescu have become the
Honorary Presidents of this
newly-established foundation.
In
his inaugural address President
Basescu expressed his confidence
that the Foundation would
succeed finding a much more
flexible solution to the
cultural approach and overcoming
political rigidity.
Romania's President admitted that very many people might wonder why one more foundation was needed, given that there are so many bodies dealing with the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The idea began a year ago, on the occasion of meeting Azerbaijan's President Illham Aliev, when talking about the rigidity of the political structures where topics were tackled related to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, such as energy alternatives, environmental protection, development of the democracy, President Basescu stressed.
Professors need meeting each other, engineers as well, the same as everybody whose activity's objective is energy, and last but not least is the requirement that ordinary people meet, without the rigid trusteeship and control of the high level diplomatic or governmental relations, Romania's President explained.
Talking to the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, or the Republic of Moldova, we reached the conclusion that maybe a different kind of communication and approaching the region's problems were required, President Basescu stressed, adding that to him, and as a matter of fact, to all the other heads of state, it became very clear that even when the democracy's standards are met, no standard recipe can be applied, because the cultural differences generate different approaches.
Our cultures are completely different and God let us live together. Our education is different, even we see democracy structurally differently,' President Basescu pointed out.
It
is difficult for a politician to
say such things into a rigid
milieu, but I am confident that
ordinary people and the men of
culture will be able to say them
in the framework of a
foundation, dealing with topics
such energy or environmental
protection, Romania's President
emphasized.
The Foundation's purpose is,
after all, to step out of the
rigidity of the political, of
the regional commitment,
strictly managed by political
interests,' said Basescu.
Stressing the Foundation's importance, President Basescu evoked the difficult moment of Georgia, last year.
'That moment confirmed, once again, how important it was that the civil society, the influential people, the men of culture should involve themselves in discussing and proposing the politicians solutions for the region,' Romania's President said.
President Basescu expressed confidence in the capability of the valuable people living in the region of the Black and the Caspian Sea of being together and generating ideas, solutions, knowledge.
'Within the EU, before Romania and Bulgaria joined it, the Black Sea was a very vague topic, and many times, I had the impression I was vainly talking about the risks in the Black Sea area, about the frozen conflicts, or the alternative energy solutions, the requirement of environmental programmes and combining cultures.
Also delivering speeches in the event were academics and diplomats of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, and they expressed their confidence in the usefulness of the initiative and its capability to consolidate the cooperation in the region.
The International Foundation for the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea is a Bucharest-based NGO, and its first president will be presidential advisor on security issues Iulian Fota.
The Foundation's goal is to strengthen the cooperation in fields such as the consolidation of democracy, justice, human rights, the fight against terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, the fight against poverty, science, culture, the environment protection. It is set up at the initiative of the scientists and the representatives of the civil society of the above mentioned countries.
After the signing ceremony, Romanian President Traian Basescu received Dr.Akkan Suver together with Turkish Ambassador in Bucharest H.E. Ayşe Sinirlioğlu. In the above picture you can see Ms. Ambassador Ayşe Sinirlioğlu and Dr.Akkan Suver together with Dr.Eldar Hasanov, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Bucharest, and Romanian President Basescu.
