Three Seas Initiative focuses on security, says Polish president
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has told top officials attending a Three Seas summit in Warsaw that the initiative is a response to today's challenges marked by tensions and unrest, particularly in light of the ongoing full-scale war in the region.
The Three Seas Initiative is a regional cooperation format established by Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Croatian counterpart in 2015, coinciding with the beginning of Duda’s first term in office. It aims to enhance connectivity among the 13 EU member states located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas.
"We live in a world full of tensions and unrest," Duda said while addressing a Three Seas meeting which on Tuesday.
"Five countries within the Three Seas share a border with Ukraine, which has been subjected to brutal aggression from Russia. In our immediate vicinity, a full-scale war continues, caused by a ruthless and predatory regime," he continued.
"The world as we know it is becoming a thing of the past, and a new security architecture is emerging before our eyes, in which the Three Seas (...) is, in fact, a response to these challenges," Duda said.
According to Duda, the current international situation necessitates a focus on security within the Three Seas project, with special emphasis on infrastructure projects which ensure military mobility and safeguard critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.
He underlined that regional cooperation, exemplified by the Three Seas Initiative, "is of key significance for the strengthening of the position of our nations in Europe and globally."
"Since the very beginning, economic cooperation was at the core of the Three Seas Initiative, but it has also been marked by a deep belief that close collaboration can ensure energy security for our countries," the Polish president said.
Following a decade of its functioning, the Three Seas Initiative has consolidated its function as one of the tools strengthening transatlantic political and economic ties, Duda added.
"At the same time, being a project established by EU member countries, the Three Seas Initiative... has also been enriching and strengthening the Union," he stated.
The gathering includes twelve regional heads of state, comprising Presidents Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic, Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia, Alar Karis of Estonia, Tamas Sulyok of Hungary and Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia, along with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of Croatia, as well as officials from Ukraine and Moldova. Additionally, the acting President of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, and delegates from Austria, Greece, and Slovenia are also in attendance.
The meeting also includes US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the ambassadors of Germany and Japan, and the Presidents of Albania and Montenegro, representing the two new associate states of the Three Seas Initiative. (PAP)
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