Iohannis: Black Sea region, special significance for European, Euroatlantic security's building

The Black Sea region has a special significance for the building of the European and Euroatlantic security, said President Klaus Iohannis in a message sent on Friday to a specialised conference on this sea's security, organised by the Lucian Blaga University (ULB) in central Sibiu. 

"I hail the initiative of the ULB to stage with the involvement of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, a conference on a currently important geopolitically and geostrategically topic.The Black Sea region has a special significance for the building of the European and Euroatlantic security. It is commendable the increasing attention given lately by the academic and scientific research community, by the NGOs, the civil society, the media and the public opinion to the global, European and national security problematic. In the current context, the security concept has developed new features, such as complexity and interdependence. At the same time, the threats' cross-border character claims an approach based on cooperation among the states, based on the international law norms," the president says in his message to the conference. 

President Iohannis reminded that assuming an active and constructive role in the Black Sea region's problems is one of the fundamental pillars of Romania's foreign and security policy. 

"The enhancement of the Strategic Partnership with the USA, of our country's profile in the NATO and the European Union, as well as the assuming of an active and constructive role in the Black Sea region's problems are some of the fundamental pillars of Romania's foreign and security policy. Transparency, predictability, tolerance and co-operation must become not only values of the participative democracies, such as our country, but also imperatives of the current international policy," president Iohannis said in his message. 

The "Emerging Importance of Wider Black Sea Area Security" conference, attended June 1-2, by security, defence and diplomacy experts, alongside professors specialised in strategies from six countries, is addressing a possible security strategy at the Black Sea, in the perspective of the NATO Summit due this July in Brussels. It is unfolding under the Aegis of the President of Romania, through the Foreign Policy Department, with support from the Embassy of Romania in the USA, based on the academic partnership with the "Nicolae Balcescu" Land Forces Academy of Sibiu. 
George Friedman, president of Geopolitical Futures and James Carafano, Vice President of Heritage Foundation, are the conference's guests of honour. 

Organizer of the conference is the Global Studies Centre with the ULB of Sibiu, which is determined to draft a Policy Paper, namely a strategic document, for the Foreign Policy Department of the Romanian Presidency, after the conference.