Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay on Tuesday said anything that happens in the Black Sea region has an “enormous” impact on security.
Black Sea is a basin and constitutes more than the countries that border it, he said at the 10th edition of Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum in Romania’s capital Bucharest.
This is evident through the presence of Albania and Greece as member states to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, headquartered in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, he said.
He further said that any shift in the security dynamics of the Black Sea would have “enormous” repercussions for the Mediterranean, stressing that this applies to all aspects of security.
On connectivity, he said, Türkiye and the EU are working on more projects in this context.
“But connectivity is not a linear thing,” Bozay said.
“It should have north-south, east-west, west-east connections.”
Comprising 46 panels, the two-day security forum, which began earlier Tuesday, brings together various active and former officials, as well as numerous experts and representatives from academic and business circles. Anadolu is global communications partner for the event.
The forum takes place on the sidelines of the latest summit of the Bucharest Nine, an organization comprising Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The summit will take place on Wednesday.
Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said in his opening remarks that the Bucharest Nine will prepare for the upcoming NATO summit in Türkiye’s capital Ankara.
“But, in coordination with that, of course, we need to increase our regional initiatives, we need to increase our overall coordination,” Toiu said.
She also described the Black Sea as a “safe sea.”
‘Strategically important for Europe’
Geza Andreas von Geyr, state secretary of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, also spoke at a panel, saying Berlin considers the Black Sea region to be “one of the most strategically important areas for the future security, stability and prosperity of Europe.”
“We do know very well: What happens in the Black Sea does not stay there. It directly affects our continent and the European Union as a whole. That is why we, the German government, are and will stay engaged,” von Geyr said.
He expressed the same goes the other way round, and that whatever happens in the Baltic Sea does not stay there, adding “all Europeans have to be engaged, here and there.”
'Timely event'
Speaking to Anadolu, Bozay described the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum as a "timely event.
His participation, he said, offered an opportunity to address regional security issues prior to the NATO summit in July.
"Our relations with Romania are at their best in all areas, and we are striving to further these relations in terms of security, political security, economic security, stability, and cooperation in the defense industry and all other areas. This forum served to highlight this point," Bozay said.
He reaffirmed that the Black Sea is a basin and the slightest change or development in it "impacts everything," noting security should not be perceived only in the military sense.
"As you know, we will also be hosting COP31. Environmental security is also included, as is economic security."
"Türkiye's significant role in the region, its ever-increasing geopolitical position, and especially the bridges we build through supply chains and value chains in our work with our partners, are of great importance," Bozay further said.
The deputy foreign minister also said it was pleasing to see the emphasis on Türkiye's importance.
“There were very positive comments about Türkiye's hosting of the NATO summit,” he said.
