Fundatia Marmara
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Am inceput astazi o vizita de doua zile la Istanbul, la invitatia Fundatiei Marmara din Turcia. Grupul Marmara este una dintre cele mai reputate si mai influente organizatii din Republica Turcia, fondat cu scopul de a dezvolta proiecte de cercetare in domeniile social, strategic si economic.
Fundatia Marmara a fos creata in anul 1985 si cuprinde, de atunci incoace, personalitati dintre cele mai marcante din domeniul politic, economic, militar, diplomatic si din societatea civila.
Vizita mea la Istanbul va fi consacrata unei intalniri cu Comitetul Executiv al Fundatiei Marmara, pentru a discuta participarea Romaniei la “Eurasian Economic Summit” din anul 2009. Acest eveniment de importanta regionala ajunge, in anul 2009, la a douasprezecea editie. El va reuni inalti reprezentanti politici, militari, economici si strategi din 30 de tari ale Europei si Asiei. De asemenea, in cadrul vizitei voi avea intalniri cu presedintele organizatiei “Global Panel”, dl Marc Ellenbogen. Domnia sa este de asemenea invitat al Fundatiei Marmara. Impreuna, cele doua organizatii vor gazdui evenimente publice in anul 2009.
Organizatia Global Panel, infiintata in anul 1989, are o multitudine de activitati si filiale in intreaga lume, fiind alcatuita din personalitati de prima marime din lumea politica, sectorul privat si din diplomatie. |
GLOBAL PANEL – MISSION AND GOALS
Global Panel’s greatest strength is its network. Global Panel works primarily behind the scenes in support of governments, institutions and the private sector. Global Panel has a strong track record. It has developed a reputation for mediating difficult disputes worldwide. Through its network of former ranking government, academic, and private sector personalities, Global Panel is well equipped to facilitate solutions in conflict areas around the world. Funding for Global Panel initiatives comes strictly from the private sector. Global Panel does not take funding from the governments who seek its help.
Global Panel was founded in 1989 by the entrepeneur Bas Spuybroek, with support from then Dutch foreign minister Hans van den Broek and industrialist Frans Lurvink.
Global Panel approaches initiatives with precision and generates strong synergies with business-to-business and business-to-policy contacts. Initiatives are supplemented through events such as “fireside-chats”, business luncheons, dinners, receptions, etc., which are flexibly scheduled.
The list of guests is long and includes the names of many of the most important statesmen, business-leaders, and scientists of the last decades. In addition, ministers, secretaries of state, CEO’s, lobbyists, scientists, and entrepreneurs have been involved with Global Panel. Such a wide variety of internationally renowned guests, meeting together, off the record, may explain why Global Panel serves as a venue where international cooperations, investments, and bilateral relations begin. Global Panel limits partcipation to 50 individuals at any one time. The average session has 25 participants.
Global Panel Initiatives
Central Europe Monitoring
Accession to the European Union required the new economies of Central Europe to meet higher standards of legislation and administration. Nevertheless, it is still difficult for Western companies to find the right partners. Members of the former system are still in positions of influence. Private gain often dominates public interest.
Western companies use the Prague Society as a filter. It briefs foreign businessmen, politicians and diplomats. It provides contacts and makes background checks on potential partners. It holds Student Forums which introduce tomorrow’s leaders to the best minds in politics and business. Its mission is to ensure the rule of law and good corporate governance.
North Korea Initiative
The 8th North Korea Initiative took place in Warsaw in February 2008 with Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and a small group of ranking guests. There was a consensus that engaging the DPRK is the right approach; and that growing Global Panel’s E 500-million Korean Republic Investment Fund (KPIF) / North Korea Investment Fund (NKIF) is a good strategy. To understand the size of the fund, it would provide enough rice for every family in the DPRK for one year. That is not the purpose of the fund; the KPIF / NKIF seeks private investors for entrepreneurial ventures, to provide micro loans, for knowledge transfer, health care, to support building, energy and infrastructural projects. Previous NKIs have taken place in Sydney, Berlin, Brussels, Seoul-Tokyo, Prague, Wellington and Bratislava. The fund will be supported by those who understand a return of investment will come much later – as it did in Central and Eastern Europe.
Black Sea Initiative
The Global Panel/Prague Society Black Sea Initiative will complement existing government initiatives with proposed private sector approaches to security, energy, and environmental issues in the Black Sea area. It will include Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine. It will also focus on issues which affect other countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece and Serbia. This initiative will serve as a bridge between the public and private sector with a clear focus on providing solutions. The BSI is chaired by Ambassador Gheorghe Tinca, Romania’s first post-communist civilian defense minister, and was initiated on May 11, 2007 in Bucharest. The most recent BSI took place in Tbilisi, Georgia under the auspices of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom Denis Keefe in March 2008.
Morocco Strategic Initiative
In partnership with the Foreign Policy Advisors of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the Royal Strategic Studies Institute, this initiative aims to bring Morocco back into the position of mediator between the West and the Muslim countries (a position it held under King Hassan II in the 1970s and 1980s). It will focus on working together in the Mediterranean basin and the Western Sahara on security issues. The involvement of Morocco in the Water, Energy and Security Initiative is also under discussion.
Water, Energy and Security Initiative
This initiative will bring together the countries of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestine Authority. It focuses on issues of water, energy and security in that area with the aim of creating a long-term strategy.
Transatlantic Drift Debate
The Transatlantic Drift Debate, held in partnership with the American Foreign Policy Council, focuses on relations between North America, the European Union and the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. It considers these in the context of the EU’s evolving partnership with the United States, and the growing voice of new members of the European affairs. Recent political and diplomatic tensions that have developed between North America and Europe require analysis and resolution if the world’s most significant geopolitical alliance is to survive and prosper. The TAD Debates aims to bring together policy shapers from both sides of the Atlantic to exchange ideas and discuss current issues regarding the relationship between the USA and Europe.
The Marmara Foundation’s World Summit
In the last couple of years, “globalization” is the primary concept that we feel all its effects in all areas of our lives. It is a process which defines the spread of some common economic, social, cultural and political values all around the world which passes over local and national borders.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its political and economic system both in the developed and developing countries’ policies started to get similar to each other. Public economy and its functions started to be reidentified, the role of the state in the economy started to be limited and market economy started to run more easily. As a natural outcome of this “liberal economy” and its “free market system” became the new dominant economic system of the world.
In the political field “democracy” became a global value of the world. Old authoritarian and totalitarian regimes replaced with democratic administrations.
As the world gets global we started to find ourselves in another process which is “regionalism”. Apart from the military alliances, with the collapse of the communist system, countries in the same region started to build up economic, political and social cooperations and alliances.
Marmara Foundation’s Eurasian Economic Summits turned into very strategic meeting for the region, started on 13-15 May 1998 as “The First Turkic States Summit”.
Today we witness trade integration and cooperation in three different continents: European Union on Europe, North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement in America (NAFTA) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Asia.
Turkey stands in geography in the middle of these Post-Cold War developments. While Europe is moving on the way to economic, cultural and political unity a new concept emerged from the east: “Eurasian Unity”. Because of its historical and cultural connections with the region this new emerging concept has great importance for Turkey.
With its Eurasian Economic Summits which continues for 9 years, Marmara Foundation took the responsibility of constructing and strengthening the concept “Eurasia”.
“Eurasian Economics Summits” is the effort to realize the heritage of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk which is “peace, stability and cooperation in the Caucasus, Middle Asia and Middle East”.
Marmara Foundation with the Eurasian Economic Summits aims to encourage joint investments, improvement of the mutual trade, coordination of the regional capital markets, stock and mine exchanges and addition to all these the improvement of the relations among the nations, cultures and different values.
First of the Eurasian Economic Summits took place 9 years before with the participation of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, on 13-15 May 1998. From this starting point to the 9th Eurasian Economic Summit, on 8-10 May 2006 Summits became the highest level meeting in the region realized by an NGO.
As an outcome of long and meticulous studies, Eurasian Economic Summits started to be identified as the “civil United Nations”.
Addition to 3 former presidents, 2 Vice Prime Ministers, 11 Ministers, 9th Eurasian Economic Summit was attended by national and foreign parliamentarians, leaders of NGOs, representatives from private sector, former general and more than 400 other representatives.