Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the invitation to take part in the GUUAM conference. Such event organized in one of the most prestigious educational and scientific centers in the world as Stanford University indicates very clearly that the attention towards GUUAM activities and its perspectives is not just growing.

GUUAM opens wide range of projects in all imaginable areas for bringing its member states to hight internaitonal standards - be it energy transportation routes, pipelines security, communication projects, establishment of free-trade zone, peace-keeping operations, crisis management etc.

Whether GUUAM with its huge potential will succeed as a political and economic formation, will depend on its participants’ capability to create a common vision and strategy and thus determine energy policy for the 21-century.

On one hand, it seems that GUUAM countries have different cultural traditions, political systems and levels of their economies.

On the other - there are several major prerequisites, which define the potential success for GUUAM future.

First, that is concurrence of economic and political interests of Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Moldova, in particular, those pertaining to search for alternative routes of transporting the Caspian oil, implementation of Eurasian transport corridor project, prospects of cooperation with the European and Euro-Atlantic structures.

Second, geopolitical situation of the GUUAM countries, their historic ties, cooperation in the framework of other international structures dictate them the necessity to strengthen economic and political relations of special partnership and broader cooperation at the regional level and in addressing international issues. What needs to be stressed in this respect is that the positions of the GUUAM countries in key foreign political issues either coincide or, at least, do not contradict one another.

Third, it is a grouping of equal countries of the post-soviet area uniting states of the same political and economic orientations.

Thus establishment of GUUAM is based on pragmatic interests, is an evidence of development of new structures of economic and political interests which prove to be more viable and, who knows, in the future, may become alternatives to traditional international organizations.

The foundation of the GUUAM was laid when Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova voiced concern over the implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Our anxieties were allayed as the adapted Treaty was signed in Istanbul last November.

At the present stage the emphasis has shifted into the economic dimension which has a huge potential and oriented for the long-term future. Each of the GUUAM countries has its possibilities for the growth of goods turnout, which could be advantageous for all GUUAM members. The major problem is how to harmonize the legislation of all the countries with different political systems and to create similar, advantageous conditions for their economies. In other words, this potential could be realized only in case if along the whole length from the western borders of Ukraine up to the southern borders of Uzbekistan the only one unified system of transportation would be created. There are much more examples that speak in favor of establishing the common vision and regulations for implementing all these promising projects.

The necessity to take resolute actions is reflected in the GUUAM memorandum, signed on September 6 earlier this year during the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York.

At the last meeting of the National Coordinators of GUUAM in Moldova an Action plan for the years 2000-2001 that is aimed at boosting cooperation between GUUAM has been elaborated.

Moreover, the mutual decision of Presidents, reflected in Memorandum to hold Summits of Heads of States and Ministers of Foreign Affairs on regular basis is about to be materialized. That includes the up-coming meeting of GUUAM Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial as well as GUUAM Summit in early spring 2001 in Kyiv, when is planned to formalize GUUAM as organization.

As of today the experts in their respective capitals work on legislation matters for transforming GUUAM into an organization. Those are the provisions for establishing the GUUAM Secretariat, provisions on the Committee of National Coordinators, Agreement on free trade zone etc.

Finally, a number of states demonstrate a growing interest to forge closer cooperation with GUUAM. In this connection the regulations defining the format of cooperation of interested countries with GUUAM should be elaborated.