The region’s countries pledged to intensify cooperation in the fight against terrorism and to address the issue of foreign fighters through coordinated efforts
TIRANA, Feb. 25 – Albania took over Tuesday the chairmanship of the South-East European Cooperation Process at a summit of foreign ministers held in Tirana.
The SEECP, which was launched on Bulgaria’s initiative in 1996 to lay the foundations for regional cooperation for creating an environment of trust, good neighborly relations and stability, held its meeting in Tirana to make the handover of the chairmanship from Romania to Albania.
The main focus of the talks was the fight against global terrorism. The foreign ministers and senior officials of 13 countries present at the meeting approved a final declaration on the topic.
They noted the direct threat that terrorism poses to peace, security and stability and pledged to unite forces in the global fight.
The statement condemned all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, especially those committed by the ISIS group and other terrorist organizations, adding that terrorism has no justification and should not be associated with any particular nationality, religion or ethnic groups.
The region’s countries pledged to intensify cooperation in the fight against terrorism and to address the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters through coordinated efforts.
The countries also asked their technical directorate, the RCC, to work on the preparation of a regional cooperation platform that would bring together all relevant national, regional and international stakeholders to develop a common approach.
The statement also promoted religious tolerance and coexistence as direct contributions to democratization, the protection of human rights, security and stability in our region and the prevention of radicalization and extremist acts.
The basic goals of regional co-operation within SEECP include the strengthening of security and the political situation, intensification of economic relations and co-operation in the areas of human resources, democracy, justice, and battle against illegal activities. It is the intention of the SEECP to enable its members to approach the European and Euro-Atlantic structures through the strengthening of good neighborly relations and transformation of the region into an area of peace and stability.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in its opening speech that Tirana considers the SEECP “as a very important political platform to intensify the dialogue in the region, consolidate sectorial cooperation and to take ahead the European integration of southeast Europe through the coordination of a series of different processes in the context of the regional cooperation.”
