SEESAC takes part in the 5th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council
Participants of the 5th RCC Annual Meeting held on 30 May 2013 in Ohrid. (Photo Courtesy of RCC)
On 30 May 2013, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) held its 5th Annual Meeting in Ohrid. Co-chaired by the RCC Secretary General, Mr. Goran Svilanovic and Foreign Minister Nikola Popoviski, on behalf of the current chair of the South-East European Cooperation process (SEECP), the meeting was an opportunity for the RCC members to exchanged views on the developments in regional cooperation in SEE, review SG’s Annual Report and endorse the new RCC strategy for 2014-2016.
An RCC’s regional initiative, mandated to serve as the executive arm of the Regional Implementation Plan on Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, SEESAC was represented at the meeting by its Coordinator, Dr. Ivan Zverzhanovski.
In his address, Dr. Zverzhanovski expressed SEESAC’s deep committed to facilitating and supporting efforts to reduce the threat posed by the uncontrolled proliferation and illicit trafficking of SALW, but also its committed to a broader understanding of security, which has in recent years expanded to include security sector reform more broadly, focusing in particular on the gender equality dimension.
Dr. Zverzhanovski drew the attention to SEESAC’s track-record which clearly demonstrates the importance and benefits of tackling issues in a regional framework, particularly through cooperation, knowledge sharing and information exchange.
Furthermore, Dr. Zverzhanovski highlighted SEESAC’s commitment to finding synergies between initiatives and projects in the region in order to avoid duplication and competition and to build on each other’s work.
Dr. Zverzhanovski’s address at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council