The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, and the Minister of National Defence, Angel Tilvar, will host, on Thursday, the first Conference on Black Sea Security, under the aegis of the Crimea International Platform, write Agerpres.

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defence of Romania, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, in partnership with the Centre for Defence Strategies of Ukraine, the conference is the first event of this magnitude dedicated to the Black Sea co-organized by the two countries, under the aegis of the Crimea International Platform.

On the same day, Bogdan Aurescu will also host the second meeting of the Trilateral Romania-Ukraine-Republic of Moldova at the level of Foreign Ministries, to focus on security issues, while also having the Defence Ministers Ministers from the three states participating.

The meeting will also be attended by the Romanian Minister of Defence, Angel Tilvar, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Moldova, Anatolie Nosatii, and the first deputy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Emine Dzapharova.

Minister Dmytro Kuleba can no longer travel to Bucharest, due to last-minute developments related to the course of the war of aggression initiated by the Russian Federation, but he will join by videoconference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

The first Conference on the security of the Black Sea taking place under the aegis of the Crimea International Platform represents an important opportunity to evaluate the multidimensional impact of Russia’s war of aggression and aims to debate, together with the states of the region and international partners, solutions for the security of the Black Sea region.

Also, the event seeks to identify solutions for strengthening cooperation in the field of security between the states bordering the Black Sea. Aspects related to information warfare and cyber attacks will also be addressed as a matter of priority, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

The meeting will be attended by foreign and defence ministers, heads of international institutions, government officials and independent experts involved in the Crimea International Platform.

Foreign delegates from more than 20 states and international organizations will be present, ministries, secretaries of state or other high officials from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Luxembourg, Finland, Holland, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Georgia, NATO (Deputy Secretary General), Council of Europe (Secretary General), Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM (Secretary General).

Also, foreign ministers and high-level representatives from seven other countries and international organizations will intervene online – Sweden, Greece, Spain, Japan, Australia, Guatemala, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe – OSCE (Secretary General). A number of foreign delegations will be represented by their embassies in Bucharest.

In total, over 250 representatives from 30 countries will participate in the conference.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, will open, alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba (videoconferece), the Romanian Minister of Defence, Angel Tilvar, respectively the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Oleksii Reznikov, the proceedings of the conference.

Bogdan Aurescu, together with the Ministers of Defence from Romania and Ukraine, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emine Dzapharova, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, will participate in the last panel of the conference that will address the theme „Future Configuration. What is the Future of Regional Security in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov Regions? Towards a Euro-Atlantic Strategy for a Stable, Secure and Prosperous Black Sea Region.”

In his speeches, Aurescu will present the special efforts made by our country in support of Ukraine, as well as for the partners most affected by the deterioration of the security situation in the region and by the pressures of Russia, primarily the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, he will plead for a strategic, coordinated and consistent commitment of the allies from the Transatlantic community in the Black Sea region and in support of the states in the area, considering the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for regional and Euro-Atlantic security, as well as the stakes for the international order based on rules. Also, the Minister will show the key role played by Romania in the regional security equation and will refer to the importance of cooperation and maintaining Transatlantic unity in managing the effects of Russian aggression against Ukraine, states the MAE.

They will also insist on the topic of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the partners in the region and advancing opportunities of economic development and cooperation of the region with the EU and NATO, promoting democratic values and consistently seeking for solutions to prolonged conflicts in the region.

Aurescu will also address ways to strengthen deterrence and defence, critical infrastructure security and resilience, measures to strengthen regional energy and food security, as well as economic ties in the Black Sea region. It will thus refer to the future of security in the region, highlighting Romania’s priority to transform the Black Sea into a region of peace and prosperity.

The agenda of the Trilateral Romania-Ukraine-Republic of Moldova will include debates on the security situation in the region, the pressure exerted by Russia against the Republic of Moldova, the support of NATO and the EU for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Also, the discussions in this format will aim at the strengthening of trilateral cooperation in the field of defence capacities of the two neighbouring states and their resilience. At the end of this trilateral meeting in Foreign-Defence format, a joint Statement will be adopted that will underscored the main elements on the agenda and the commitment of the three states for the development of trilateral cooperation.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the fact that these events take place in Bucharest is proof of the key role played by Romania in the regional security equation, marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the multiple, conventional and hybrid threats that the Black Sea region is facing.