Regional cooperation within GUAM reanimated

«Visegrad Four" experience as a regional format, can be useful for GUAM, and the regional associations can work together successfully. This idea is a refrain sounded on Monday at a roundtable on the topic: "GUAM and Visegrad Group: Possibilities and Limitations of Regional Cooperation" organized by the Czech Embassy in Baku and the local Research Center "Atlas".

"Visegrad Three" was created after the collapse of socialist Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland and turned into Four after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Czech Ambassador to Baku Vitezslav Pivonka pointed out that the cooperation is driven by the interests of energy security and the threat of separatism.

"For four years, the world has changed around us dramatically, posing a real threat to all of us," the ambassador said. Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Malena Mard said that the existence of regional groupings within the EU, as the "Visegrad Four" and the Baltic Council, allows to better understand the interests of different groups of countries.

The head of the "Atlas" Center Shahinoglu noted that speaking about the interaction between the "Visegrad Group" and GUAM, must be noted curtailing cooperation in the framework of GUAM.

This was partly recognized by  GUAM Secretary General Altay Efendiyev.

Since its creation in 1997 until 2008, within the framework of GUAM  were actively discussed issues of regional cooperation in the fields of transport and energy.

However, after the August 2008 war in Georgia, the organization entered a phase of "uncertainty". At a time when the international community failed to respond adequately to the August events in Georgia, some of the GUAM members got into "Russia's policy direction," he said.

However, the events in 2014 in Ukraine, radically changed the regional context.

This time the international community reacted strongly to what is happening. At the same time, it has caused tensions between Ukraine and Russia. This situation, as well as the closure of Russian communications for Ukraine and Turkey, once again actualized the  use of GUAM transport corridors.

Thus, Ukraine has offered to host GUAM summit with the participation of Kazakhstan at the level of prime ministers. Preparation for such a meeting is ongoing, Efendiyev said. Restoration of the ancient Silk Road, the lifting of sanctions against Iran can promote the development of transport cooperation.

The discussion was attended by diplomats, members of parliament of Azerbaijan, representatives of the expert community.-06C--