Regional Trade Agreements in the ECE

NEXT SUMMIT OF GUAM WILL TAKE PLACE IN TBILISI ON JULY 2008

During the second summit of the heads of Member States of GUAM, which took place in Baku on 18-19 June 2007, the participants decided to organize the next summit of the organization in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June 2008.

In 2008, the activity of the organization will focus on:

·        valuable functioning of the free trade zones in the frameworks of GUAM

·        strengthening the fight against transnational crime

·        promotion cultural and humanitarian cooperation

·        realization of regional energetic and transport projects

One of the expected goals was the strengthening of working relations with the partners, mainly USA, Poland, Japan and European Union.   

GUAM WITHDRAWS FROZEN-CONFLICTS PROPOSAL

Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told journalists in Tbilisi on December 7 that the GUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) have asked the UN General Assembly to postpone discussion, originally scheduled for December 7, of GUAM's draft resolution on so-called frozen conflicts on its members' territory, Caucasus Press reported. The website www.izvestia.ru attributed that request on December 7 to disagreements among the four GUAM members over the proposed text of the draft resolution. On November 21, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, unveiled an appeal to UN member states adopted on October 4 by the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transdniester, to reject the GUAM initiative (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 22, 2006). That appeal argued that the decision to raise the issue with the UN General Assembly, rather than the UN Security Council, reflects a desire to enlist support for their bid to use force "to quash the legitimate aspiration of our peoples to live in...peace and equality." On Decembe  1, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian warned that such a UN General Assembly debate would create obstacles to the ongoing search for a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Noyan Tapan reported. LF

MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE LEAVING CIS

President Vladimir Voronin said on May 23 that Moldova's parliament will debate a proposal to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Interfax reported the same day. "This initiative has been put forward by the opposition and will be debated in parliament. The outcome of these debates is another issue," Voronin, who is attending a summit of the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) regional grouping in Kyiv, told reporters. Voronin added that Chisinau is seeking to increase GUAM's importance. "We want to transform this body into an international organization and to continue to do everything we have been doing, but on a different basis," he said.

GUAM LEADERS IN KYIV DECLARE TO CREATE 'ORGANIZATION FOR DEMOCRACY

The presidents of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (GUAM) -- Mikheil Saakashvili, Viktor Yushchenko, Ilham Aliyev, and Vladimir Voronin, respectively -- signed a declaration in Kyiv on May 23 to set up the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development -- GUAM, UNIAN reported. President Yushchenko said the objectives of the new organization are to promote democratic  values, safeguard sustained economic development, strengthen international and regional security, and deepen European integration.

GUAM MEETING OPENS IN KYIV

A two-day summit meeting of the presidents of GUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) opened in Kyiv on May 22, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The main topics on the agenda are the diversification of energy supplies and containment of regional "frozen conflicts." The adopted agenda foresees separate meetings of the member states' foreign, energy, and interior ministers, and of the heads of their respective security services. A proposed name change for the organization, Organization for Democracy and Economic Development -- GUAM, is expected to be adopted at the meeting. The presidents of Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania were invited to attend the summit as guests.

Uzbekistan threatens to withdraw from GUUAM

RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 19, Part I, 31 January 2005

...AND SUGGESTS THAT UKRAINE EVENTS COULD LEAD UZBEKISTAN TO LEAVE GUUAM. Speaking at a news conference after his address to parliament on 28 January, President Karimov said that events in Georgia and Ukraine could lead Uzbekistan to pull out of GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine,Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova), Uzbek Television First Channel reported. "The tendencies that are taking place now in Ukraine and Georgia -- and also in Moldova, which is a member of GUUAM -- make us reconsider our relations again and again: whether or not we should continue participating in GUUAM in the future," Karimov said. "We have not yet adopted any decision on this account. However, I think we will solve this issue in the near future." Karimov also lambasted the Commonwealth of Independent States for its ineffectiveness and stressed that U.S. troops will leave Uzbekistan once the U.S. contingent leaves Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has previously suspended and then reaffirmed its membership in GUUAM (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 May 2003 and 26 June 2004). DK

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"The Limits of Diversity in the Post Soviet Space: CIS & GUUAM"

The following is a link to a study by Dr. P.C. Latawski on "The Limits of Diversity in a Post-Soviet Space"

read: "The limits of Diversity in the Post Soviet Space: CIS and GUUAM"

Note on May 2003 GUUAM meeting

This is a note prepared by Mika on the following meeting which he attended:

The Second GUUAM – USA Expert Meeting on Trade and Transport Facilitation
6 and 7 May 2003
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

The second GUUAM – USA Expert meeting was attended by the five GUUAM countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) and the following observers: Bulgaria, Romania, Germany and the EU delegation. Representatives of OSCE, TTFSE, WB, and TRACECA also attended the meeting.

The Ukrainian Chairman opened the meeting and gave a brief background on GUUAM cooperation. GUUAM wished to establish a transport corridor from Uzbekistan to Austria – and address issues, such as trade and transport facilitation, security, border and customs control, combating terrorism and organized crime as well as drugs trafficking.

Based on the Kiev Protocol (of the meeting of the Heads of Customs Agencies of the GUUAM Participating States, 11 February 2003), there were already some projects under development:
- Harmonization of legislation regarding border crossing in the participating states
- Standardization of IT equipment and systems used for processing data on border crossing
- Trade policy and organizational support (with Chambers of Commerce)
- Export and import regulations

The work was being conducted jointly with US Technical Assistance aiming at larger-scale support from WB. A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the area was being prepared as a result of an ambassadorial meeting that had been held on 5 May. This would lead to the establishment of a GUUAM secretariat (Joint Information Office) in Kiev. The US would pay the running costs of the Office while each participating state would assign a Liaison Officer at its own cost. Additional support would be acquired from the participating governments and organizations such as SECI.

The current president of the GUUAM Group, Mr Grigol Kotanadze (Georgia) thanked the participating countries for better coordination after the initial difficulties. Georgia was keen to get the cooperation going more actively. However, the role of support from other international organizations would need to be secured, including the United Nations, OSCE as well as countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Concrete project proposals were being awaited.

Mr Pavel Pashko (Ukraine, Customs) highlighted the need in the countries for customs cooperation and welcomed the GUUAM initiative. An inter-departmental group on customs and security had already been established at a high government level in Ukraine.

Anatoly Zoricki (Frontier Guars) emphasized the security issues as part of GUUAM operations. Information exchange based on a single technological cycle between the participating countries should be given a high priority.

Mr Markey (USA) reconfirmed the intention of the US to continue cooperation with GUUAM. A constructive dialogue had been going on for three years and now concrete projects were needed. In September 2002, a joint US – GUUAM initiative had called for action to increase security and enhance cooperation among the participating countries, based on a framework programme focusing on the protection of revenue, trade and transport facilitation and customs cooperation, largely in cooperation with SECI. In addition, a GUUAM Law Enforcement Centre was being planned (following a SECI model), possibly with special WB loans for GUUAM for the forthcoming 3 years. Work in inter-parliamentary working groups was also envisaged in the area of the harmonization of legislation.

Mr David Harrel (a retired US Customs officer) was on a 2-week mission in Kiev to develop a plan for the trade and transport facilitation project. He was identifying the agencies related to border crossing as it was felt that all parties concerned would need to be involved. Activities to implement United Nations drugs conventions, WTO issues etc were envisaged. In addition to the establishment of the Liaison Office in Kiev, trade data automation, electronic data transfers and related facilities and equipment for processing and inspection were required for concrete activities at border crossing points.

Mr David Harrell explained the work done on job descriptions for the liaison officers. They would work at the GUUAM office in Kiev at the cost of their respective governments. The US would pay their housing and related costs (travel, per diem) during their stay. Two liaison officers (customs and border control) were envisaged from each participating country.

The Chairman explained that the meeting would need to agree on the recommendations. The liaison officers would work in Kiev at least for 3 months first. The GUUAM secretariat would provide them with office space & technology (IT, phone, fax).

The initial Terms of Reference (circulated at the meeting for review and finishing) contained the expected results for the first 3 months and would we revised at the end of the period. The results would include:
- a strategic plan on trade and transport faciliation
- website (or at least a proposal on the structure)
- proposal for cooperation with the WB (credit agreement)

The next steps would include:
- WB representative from Moldova to contact WB in Washington
- GUUAM and US channels to do the same
- UNECE to provide assistance in linking the GUUAM website to its relevant trade facilitation website
- Ukraina to estimate the costs of the GUUAM secretariat and the personnel on mission
- On 3 June a meeting of parlamentarians of GUUAM states would be held in Kiev where the Liaison Office would be officially launched.
- 18 – 20 May a meeting of the National Coordinators in Tbilisi would prepare that.

GUUAM secretariat & US:

o would provide weekly status reports to the governments
o deliverables would be presented to Presidents at the following Yalta Conference
o secretariat fully operational in September 2003
o job descriptions for the border guard (draft distributed at the meeting) and customs representatives to be finished asap
o The US experts would stay in Kiev for 6 weeks until mid June to finish the operationalization of the secretariat.
o Materials of the meeting would be forwarded to the participating states in a week’s time
o An implementation programme for 3 – 5 year project should be prepared
o The working groups in Kiev should put together an initial strategy that would be refined in the course of the work
o As the initial funds and time would be limited, there was a lot of pressure to should early success and positive results to convince the financing institutions. WB would expect to see a work plan and a strategy
o During the initial state, current existing work (projects, conventions, norms, procedures) would be reviewed to allow GUUAM to initiate work
o In 90 days’ time, an action plan for GUUAM would need to be finished and presented to WB.