Remarks by Ambassador Tedo Japaridze
at the GUUAM Conference
Harvard Black Sea Regional Security Program
May 31, 2001

First, I would like to join my colleagues in thanking the organizers of the Harvard Black Sea Regional Security Program at the Kennedy School of Government. I'd like to welcome distinguished participants of this Program. Among them I have many personal friends. That's why, it is a great pleasure and honor for me to be here today. I hope this Program will promote understanding with participants and contribute to the development of regional cooperation among nations of the Black Sea Region.

I would especially like to thank organizers that they found room for this GUUAM Forum within the Program. On the eve of the GUUAM summit in Yalta next week, one can't think about better timing for this event - to share with each other our thoughts, perceptions and views on the past, present and future of GUUAM. I’m very pleased with continued interest of the U.S. Administration in GUUAM affairs and would like to take this opportunity to welcome the participation of the Bush Administration representatives in this forum.

During the last two years I have been involved in several similar meetings with my colleagues from GUUAM countries. The first ones were of an informative nature, but the later ones were more practically oriented. We discussed specific plans of cooperation, and not only within GUUAM itself, but also between GUUAM and the United States.

Before I speak about specific issues, I would like to draw attention to the fact that during the past several months, especially in light of recent developments within the Post-Soviet space, whether GUUAM was “to be or not to be” was brought into question. Fortunately, however, this uncertainty has passed. The time has come, again, to discuss concrete plans of cooperation. There is no doubt that these issues will be discussed in Yalta, but I would like to share some of my personal observations.

When I mentioned GUUAM’s “to be or not to be” dilemma, I was not merely referring to the formal pact between these five countries. Today, GUUAM is a constituent part of the independence of its member states. This is the only group in which Georgia is a member and Russia is not. I do not mean that GUUAM is an anti-Russian alliance. I want to repeat what I have stated several times at the past GUUAM forums, that GUUAM is the closest thing in the post-Soviet space to a strategic relationship, even though the members of GUUAM may not be as adept at the formal constructions of strategies as, say, France or China. But we should be in no doubt that this is what GUUAM intends to be. It is a group of states with common problems and threat perceptions and, I hope common vision of future. Many are asking: where and what is GUUAM? Is it in- or out of CIS, pro- or anti-CIS or against Russia? Let me answer this question: First of all, GUUAM is beyond CIS, but it’s neither anti-CIS, nor anti-Russian. It is pro-GUUAM strategic relationship.

GUUAM’s birth mother is the CFE negotiations, and its foster mother is NATO. Two of GUUAM members - Ukraine, Azerbaijan and my own country, Georgia - are direct NATO borderlands, sharing common boundaries with Poland and Turkey respectively. Moldova is indirect NATO borderlands, which shares borders with Ukraine and Romania. The latter, Romania, which will probably be the next NATO member, thereby moves Moldova up to a direct NATO neighborhood. Our newest member, Uzbekistan, is somewhat more distant, but it is linked to all the others via the emerging Eurasian Transport Corridor, by membership in the PfP programs, by our affiliation with the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

Now, let me speak of several of the major dimensions of GUUAM’s activities. I will start with security. It is true that GUUAM is not a military alliance, but cooperation in the security sphere from the first days of GUUAM’s existence has been, and should remain, one of the priorities of our cooperation. Progress to develop other dimensions of GUUAM’s agenda depends upon cooperation mainly in the security area, broadening the definition of this concept. I have in mind economic security, energy security, environmental security, etc, but I would like to emphasize the issue of border security.

Border security is directly linked to our independence and territorial sovereignty. As many of you are aware, last year the U.S. congress endorsed the advancement of GUUAM’s “Border security and territorial integrity” under the Security Assistance Act of 2000, which authorized funds for assisting GUUAM countries in strengthening their national border control.

The establishment of new institutions, forces, and systems, the capacityin general - to control our borders is critical for our national survival. Furthermore, protection of our borders is our responsibility before the international community. From this perspectives the nations of GUUAM are fully committed to positively contribute to the collective efforts in countering terrorism, fighting multinational organized crime, narcotics and human trafficking, proliferation of weapons, etc. Increasing border controls in order to combat these global problems should become one of the primary tasks for GUUAM, but we also need assistance from our friends, first and foremost, the United States. International assistance to build our collective capacity in the form of training and equipment for our Border Guards and Customs forces is instrumental in the enhancement of the border security of the members of GUUAM. Increased coordination between Border Guards and Customs Services will facilitate trade among our nations and beyond. I believe that improving trade across our borders will consolidate GUUAM’s position as the backbone of the East-West Transportation Corridor.

This brings me to yet another point of cooperation within GUUAM, and that is economic cooperation. During the Yalta summit, the heads of state will consider the idea of establishing a GUUAM free-trade zone. If the decision to create such a free-trade zone is made, its success will require numerous efforts from the member states in the near future. These efforts should begin with the harmonization of national legislation and establishing rule of law, and end with the fight against corruption.

We hope that the creation of a GUUAM free-trade zone will enhance the investment opportunities in the GUUAM countries. These opportunities were recently discussed at the meeting of representatives of the Chambers of Commerce of GUUAM countries in Baku. I think the Business Councils of respective countries in the USA should consider the idea of organizing a joint conference in the United States to discuss the possibilities and opportunities created by this new zone. The potential benefits from this kind of event are obvious.

The goal of GUUAM is to develop regional cooperation not only within the geographical boundaries of its member states, but also beyond. For this reason GUUAM activities in the recent period often centered on issues of overall development of the East-West Transportation Corridor, which, by its very nature, encompasses countries beyond GUUAM. The Corridor is not limited to its transportation and commercial functions. In fact, it has the potential to become a stabilizing factor among states contingent to the corridor. A developed East-West Transportation Corridor would foster the creation of new geo-strategic and geo-economic alliances in addition to facilitating the development of functioning democratic institutions.

Implementation of concrete projects within the 3 components of the Corridor – TRACECA (Europe-Caucasus-Asia Transport Corridor), East-West Energy Corridor and Telecommunications network - will create a new atmosphere of trust and cooperation, strengthen independence and sovereignty, and improve security mechanisms within the GUUAM countries, which, in the long run, will make the democratic and free market reforms irreversible.

I would like to conclude my remarks by reiterating my belief that GUUAM, in the long run, should not be limited to the countries of the Post-Soviet space. We have to be open to invite, perhaps initially as observers, the adjacent states, which might share the interests of the regional cooperation. Turkey, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria may be constructively engaged in discussions within the GUUAM.

Speaking about GUUAM relations with the “outside world,” I should mention also that GUUAM has accumulated significant experience of effectively coordinating its positions internationally with the OSCE, the United Nations, and during the CIS meeting. I hope that the United States government will support GUUAM in forming relationships with other regional security and economic organizations such as NATO and the European Union. The time has come, also, to formalize U.S.-GUUAM relations, following the Yalta summit, in the form of regular consultation between U.S. government officials and GUUAM representatives.

Finally, let me express hope, that the GUUAM summit in Yalta will mark the beginning of a new stage in GUUAM’s history, a stage in which GUUAM will establish its place in the realm of international affairs, and a stage marked by economic progress and cooperation.