Georgian think tank chair: world should understand Black Sea region is “integral component” of Eurasian security

Victor Kipiani, the chair of the Georgian-based analytical centre Geocase, told a conference on Black Sea security questions the world should realise the role of the region is an “integral component” of Eurasian security.

Speaking at the hybrid format conference hosted by the Global Studies Center at the Romanian-based University of Sibiu, Kipiani noted the significance of the region in its connection to  Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Black Sea is becoming a “fulcrum of great power competition”, the think tank chair noted, adding countries of the region should be “well equipped and well prepared” to deal with and tackle the existing as well as emerging challenges. He also said the “foundation of the Black Sea unity in terms of security was a “common perception of risks, threats and challenges”.

“Global security model in the foreseeable world would be combined, unified and united. The future of global security will be based on hub-and-spoke models. There will be more articulated regional centres”, he told participants of the event.

“Those regional centres will be competing with each other for more security umbrellas and more investments as well - this is another incentive for us to team up, join our efforts and do our best to win in this competition. Institutionalising the cooperation of the Black Sea nations is something that we should be looking at” Kipiani said.

He also raised the prospect of a Black Sea declaration that would be signed by “like-minded nations” of the region with the exception of Russia. Kipiani stressed the declaration, among other issues, would focus on the idea of zones “free of corrupt and special influences”, diversifying regional infrastructure, implementing socially and environmentally sustainable projects and setting up a regional free trade area to develop the economic potential of the region.

In comments on regional security, Kipiani pointed out the model of formation of “relatively small alliances between countries”, highlighting the Australia-United Kingdom-United States model as an example.

The conference aimed to identify ways of tackling common security, geopolitical and geo-economic challenges facing Romania, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, with participants discussing regional security issues in the context of Russia’s “new strategic geopolitical approach” at the international conference. Participants of the event included prominent analysts and experts as well as authority and diplomatic corps representatives.