As the world focuses on other disaster-struck parts of the world, it’s easy to overlook the Black Sea region and its growing importance as an area with new political and security challenges.
Thursday, Glendon’s Research Group in Public and International Affairs will host a round-table discussion on the area and its issues, organized in conjunction with the Association of Canadian-Romanian University Professors in Ontario (ACRUPO).
Organized by Eugene Roventa (right), professor of computer science at Glendon and ACRUPO president, the session will be held on Oct. 20 from 1 to 5:15pm, followed by a reception until 7pm, in the Senate room, York Hall, on the Glendon campus, 2275 Bayview Ave.
Topics for the afternoon include the Black Sea as a space of security and international cooperation and an examination of relations among the states in the region (Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey) as well as Romanian initiatives in the area. Other topics include the dangers of frozen conflicts in places such as Transnistria and Ahkbazia; the importance of information exchange and cooperation in fighting organized crime, weapons, and trafficking in nuclear materials; and the role of the European Union, the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe, NATO and other emerging regional organizations, such as the GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) Group, in maintaining stability in the Black Sea region.
The economic potential of the Black Sea area, which provides close to 50 per cent of the EU’s energy resources, and the potential of economic relations with Canada will also be discussed.
Participants at the round table will include representatives from Foreign Affairs Canada, the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the NATO Association of Canada. Several representatives from the government of Romania will attend the session and will be welcomed by Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts and Roventa. Also expected are representatives from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia and the Romanian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The opening panel, “Security and Cooperation in the Black Sea Region” which runs from 1:15 to 2:45pm will be moderated by Michael Barutciski, professor in Glendon’s International Studies Program. The second panel, on the role of the EU, OSCE, NATO and other emerging regional organizations in revitalizing the economic potential of the Black Sea region, will be moderated by Dov Lungu, professor in the Atkinson School of Analytic Studies & Information Technology.
For more information on the round table and registration, contact Eugene Roventa at ext. 88125 or e-mail roventa@yorku.ca.