GUAM taskforce mulls energy issues in Kiev
By Sabina Idayatova
The Ukrainian capital Kiev hosted a meeting of the working group on energy of GUAM, a group of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, on March 4-5. The event, held under the chairmanship of Azerbaijan, was also attended by the Hungarian Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC).
Participants of the seventh such meeting were briefed about the implementation of the "Promoting Green Economy in GUAM countries: promotion of renewable energy sources" project and thanked the Japanese government for its support in the project.
The parties discussed issues related to the preparations for the seminar of representatives of the member states, organized in the framework of cooperation between GUAM and Japan jointly with the Hungarian center, and agreed to hold a workshop on October 17-18 at the GUAM Secretariat in Kiev.
The meeting also considered the concept of the project on promoting green economy and approved it, as well as agreed to hold the next meeting of the working group in the second half of 2013.
GUAM was established in 1997 during the EU presidential summit in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the organization, but withdrew four years later. The basic priorities of the organization include the strengthening of the values of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and freedoms, stability and security, combating international terrorism, aggressive separatism, extremism and transnational organized crime, deepening of the European integration and achievement of sustainable development and well-being of the member nations.
GUAM is an open organization, and any country sharing its purposes and principles may join it.