In the period 06-07.11.2018, the 19th Annual Meeting of the Border Police Chiefs / Coast Guard Chiefs of Black Sea Border Countries took place in Odessa - Ukraine, within the Black Sea Cooperation Forum.
The activity was attended by heads of the Border Police / Coast Guard of the Black Sea riparian states (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia), accompanied by national experts, the official Romanian Border Police delegation led by chief commissioner Adrian Popescu, assignee General Inspector of the GIBP.
During the meeting, the Romanian delegation carried out the transfer of the Presidency of the Black Sea Forum to the Administration of the State Border Service of Ukraine and presented its activity report during the period of the mandate - December 2017 - November 2018.
Thus, the RBP General Inspector stated that during this period, the aim was to identify new methods of cooperation in order to effectively combat cross-border crime in the Black Sea area, with an emphasis on the management of the illegal migration phenomenon. Specifically, these activities concerned the development and implementation of a common prevention system for the early detection of illegal activities on the Black Sea and the conduct of joint exercises ("Black Sea Hawk 2018"), attended by all the states that are part of the Black Sea Forum.
The Presidency of the Black Sea Cooperation Forum has been taken over by the host state through the border authority for a period of one year. The representatives of the participating structures have established the cooperation actions to be organized in 2019, where they will discuss issues related to the security and safety of the Black Sea navigation, the development of practical cooperation mechanisms between the Black Sea riparian states and the exchange of experience and personnel on missions carried out on board of naval mobility means.
The importance of maritime border security has also been raised; these exchanges of experience and meetings held within the Black Sea Cooperation Forum fully reconfirm the efforts made to maintain the Black Sea area in a space of stability and security.
Background information
In 2006, on the occasion of the VIIth Border Police Chiefs / Coast Guard Chiefs Meeting of Black Sea States (R. Turkey), the Cooperation Agreement between the Border Authorities / Coast Guard Guards of Black Sea riparian states (Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine), a document devoted to the Black Sea Cooperation Forum in the field of cooperation between the border authorities of the Black Sea riparian countries, the objective of which is to ensure the holding of meetings, debates, information and experience exchange, as well as developing the basic ideas and principles of the collaboration.
The Presidency of the Forum is held annually by each Member State, the Romanian Border Police finalizing its fourth mandate.
Expert meetings are held periodically in order to plan common actions that have as their main objective the development of security and stability in the cooperation between the states bordering the Black Sea through:
- Promotion of peace and stability in the region on the basis of trust and security between the states bordering the Black Sea;
- Intensify existing links between border agencies / coast guards to prevent illegal migration, drug trafficking, psychotropic substances, their substitutes and precursors, ammunition, explosives, radioactive and poisonous substances, and strengthen the safety and security of navigation in the Black Sea;
- Establishing cooperation bases for the protection of the Black Sea natural resources and preventing violations of fisheries rules;
- Preventing maritime pollution and protecting the marine environment;
- Promotion of the scientific research activity on oceanography and hydrography in the Black Sea.
