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Isarescu: Regional cooperation can be initiated politically, but it needs involvement of business people, civil society
There is a rising interest in Black Sea cooperation, given the regional and world changes of late, and such cooperation, initiated at a political level, should get the business community and the civil society also involved, says Governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Mugur Isarescu.We all agree that the Black Sea region is a an increasingly greater challenge on the European agenda. Regional approach makes the main players understand that common problems have to be tackled together. Over the past five years, the region and the whole world have been facing many problems and rapid changes have influenced the way people choose to look at the future," Isarescu told a conference on Tuesday on cooperation in the Black Sea region with emphasis on energy and food security.
He said that regional cooperation in various areas, including energy and food security, can be initiated at a political level, but its implementation requires a more active involvement of the private sector and the civil society as the main vehicles for cross-border cooperation.
"High food production for a rising population goes hand in hand with access to good, safe and accessible food. The same as the food nourishes our bodies, energy feeds the economy. So, energy has to be safe as well, accessible and sustainable at the same time," added Isarescu.
He said the idea behind closer Black Sea cooperation is not a new one, but that it emerged out of a paradox. "Although the countries in the region benefit from regional proximity, they have divergent histories and political leanings, and consequently their economic ties are poor or almost inexistent. As a veteran of Black Sea affairs, I can give you an example. In mid-1990s, I had to travel to the Caucasus with a delegation of the Intentional Monetary Fund (IMF) from Bucharest. In order to reach Baku or Tbilisi I had to fly via Vienna, so instead of three hours on a non-stop flight from Bucharest to Tbilisi it took me almost one day to do so," said Isarescu.
He also mentioned the moment when a Black Sea Governors' Club was established. "In an attempt to connect the Black Sea countries, the governor of the Bank of Turkey contacted me in the autumn of 1997 to suggest the establishment of a club of governors from Central Asia and the Black Sea region patterned on the Bank for International Settlements. The club was officially set up in May 1998 in Istanbul, following the signing of a constitution protocol by nine central banks. And it worked! The club has been working for nearly 20 years. It is a kind of a network of central banks gathering countries form this region. In the meantime, 13 more countries joined the club, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from Central Asia to Central Europe. We reached the Pacific Ocean because the Central Bank of China also joined in," said Isarescu.