BLACK SEA SECURITY PROGRAM REGIONAL WORKSHOP

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

By the initiative of Romanian Ministry of National Defense the Harvard Black Sea Security Program Regional Workshop will take place in Bucharest from October 22 - 26, 2006. The primary topic of discussion will be Shared Concerns and Common Approaches to Black Sea and Caspian Sea Security. The event is a follow-up to the fifth annual Black Sea Security Program, which took place in April, 2006 and hosted participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States.

The Bucharest conference is the fifth annual gathering of alumni and regional experts affiliated with Harvard’s Black Sea Security Program, which takes place every April at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Prior conferences took place in Yalta, Ukraine (2002), Baku, Azerbaijan (2003), Batumi, Georgia (2004) and Chisinau, Moldova (2005). The primary missions are: 1) to provide a forum for regional experts to discuss critical security issues pertaining to the Black Sea region, 2) to strengthen and expand the regional network initiated by the Black Sea Security Program’s annual April conference, and 3) to involve American general officers and policy makers in dialogue about security in the Black Sea region.

For more information, please refer to the Black Sea Security Program website at www.harvard-bssp.org or contact Program Director Sergei Konoplyov at 617-405-8046 or sergei_konoplyov@harvard.edu.

A G E N D A

22 October, Sunday

Arrival of participants to Bucharest on “Henri Coanda” International Airport

18:00-- 19:00 Ice breaker at Haiducului Hotel

19:00 – 21:00 Cocktail at Haiducului Hotel

23 October, Monday

08:00 – 09:00 Breakfast at Restaurant of Haiducului Hotel

9:30 Opening remarks: Minister of Defense

Country presentations

10:00 – 10:25

Georgia: Reform on Security Ministries/Westernizing Georgia’s Ministry, Separatist Conflicts and the Threat to Georgian Domestic Stability.

Mamuka Kudava, Deputy Minister of Defense

10:25 – 10:50

Armenia: Cooperation with Western Security Systems: NATO, OSCE

TBD

10:50 – 11: 15

Azerbaijan: Trans-Caspian Cooperation; Western Security Integration; Iran

Shahin Sultanov, Commander of the Navy

11:15 – 11:40

Bulgaria: New NATO membership; Thoughts on the role of NATO/PfP in the Black Sea.

Nikola Nikolov, Bulgarian MoD

11:40 – 12:10

12:10- 12:35

Russia: Russian policy in the Black Sea Region

Valeriy Uskov, Russian MoD

12:35 – 13:00

Moldova: security implications of the unresolved Transdnistria situation on the region; Efforts to curb transnational threats.

Colonel Macrinschi, Deputy Chief of General Staff

13:00 – 15:00 Lunch at Byzantine Hall of National Military Circle

15:00 – 15:30

Romania: NATO membership; Thoughts on the role of NATO/PfP in the Black Sea;

Mihai-Rгzvan Ungureanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs

15:30 – 16:00

Turkey: status of Black sea security organizations (BLACKSEAFOR, etc.); analysis of threat environment and effects on the Black Sea region; US-Turkey Relations.

Captain Zahit Ogurlu, Turkish Navy

16:00 – 16:30

Ukraine: Trans-National Threats, Defense Reform/NATO integration

Alexander Skipalskiy, Deputy Head, Center of Strategic Studies and Analysis

17:00 – 19:30 Visit to National Defense University and/or shopping on Bucharest at Romania Plaza Mall

20:00 Official Dinner hosted by Minister of Defense at Bucharest Military Restaurant (at National Military Circle)

24 October, Tuesday

08:00 – 09:00 Breakfast at Restaurant of Haiducului Hotel

9:30 – 10:00

US Cooperation with the Region

Office of the Secretary of Defense/International Security Policy/Eurasia

10:00 – 10:30

EUCOM Partnerships programs

EUCOM

10:30 – 11:00

EU Cooperation with the Region

European Union Military Staff

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:00

Security priorities in the Black Sea/Caspian Sea Region

Vladimir Socor, Senior Analyst, Jamestown Foundation

12: 00 – 14:00 Lunch at Byzantine Hall of National Military Circle

14:00 – 15:00

NATO Policy in the Region

NATO

15:00 Open Discussion

15:30 Conclusion of the Workshop

16:00 – 19:30 Visit to Cotroceni Palace Museum or/and Palace of the Parliament, and/or going to shopping at Bucharest Mall.)

20:00 Final Dinner at Bucharest Military Restaurant on National Military Circle

25 October, Wednesday

9:00 – 18:00 Visit to Sibiu area http://www.sibiu2007.ro/en2/sibiu.htm (travel by air)

26 October, Thursday

07:00 – 08:00 Breakfast at Restaurant of Haiducului Hotel

09:00 Checkout and departure of participants.

Notes

* All presentations will be carried on at The Marble Hall of National Military Circle.