Атлантическия съвет на Съединените щати
ЧЕРНОМОРСКИ ЕНЕРГИЕН И ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИ ФОРУМ 2010
 

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September 29, 2010 BSEEF 2010 - Forum Opening: 09/29/10 - Transcript   Back to Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum 2010 event page THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL OF THE UNITED STATES

BLACK SEA ENERGY AND ECONOMIC FORUM 2010

OPENING REMARKS AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS

WELCOME AND MODERATOR:
FREDERICK KEMPE,
PRESIDENT AND CEO,
THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL

SPEAKERS:
RIFAT HISARCIKLIOGLU,
PRESIDENT, UNION OF CHAMBERS AND COMMODITIES EXCHANGES OF TURKEY

DINU PATRICIU,
CHAIRMAN, DP HOLDING SA

NIKOLOZ GILAURI,
PRIME MINISTER,
REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA

LT. GEN. BRENT SCOWCROFT (RET.),
CHAIRMAN, INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD,
THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN,
PRIME MINISTER,
REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

Transcript by
Federal News Service
Washington, D.C.

FREDERICK KEMPE:  Please welcome the prime minister of Turkey and the prime minister of Georgia.  (Applause.)  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  I’m Fred Kempe.  I’m president and CEO of the Atlantic Council.  Prime Minister Erdogan, Prime Minister Gilauri, your excellencies, distinguished guests, it’s my great pleasure to welcome you all to the Atlantic Council’s Second Annual Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum. 

It’s a particular pleasure to be able to hold this conference in the beautiful and historic city of Istanbul.  Throughout its long and turbulent past, Istanbul has been a hub – a center of trade, a center of politics, a center of culture.  It was, by far, the largest European city for centuries, a bustling metropolis, and for many, the center of the world – quite literally the center of the world. 

Just west of the Sofia Hagia are the remnants of the Milion stone, placed by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.  And it was from that stone that all geographic distances and time were measured in the empire.  Back then, Istanbul physically marked the center of the world, the center of time and space.

And for the purposes that we’ll be studying at the conference, it is absolutely clear that Istanbul is the center of that world.  Many things have changed in Istanbul, of course, since the reign of Constantine.  But reminders of the past are all around us.  Just last night, from the 15th floor, I was looking down on the legendary gardens of the Yildiz Palace, a palace that was occupied by one of the last Ottoman rulers, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who successfully held his empire together at a time of great upheaval in Europe.

And while things have changed quite a bit since then, the city, today, again finds itself very much at the center of things.  It is at the center of a burgeoning region of trade, politics and growth.  It is at the center of international renown, and for many, it is once again becoming a center of their world. 

Like Sultan Abdul Hamid II, today’s leaders are facing a world of rapid change and must find a way to navigate through the difficult challenges facing them.  We are truly at an inflection point, where we are entering a new era, where Turkey and this region are going to be absolutely central, not only to what happens in the region, but the health of the broader world. 

Accordingly, it’s highly appropriate that we are holding this forum in Istanbul as we discuss the energy, economic and political issues of the crucial region that lies between Central Europe and the Far East – Black Sea, the Caucasus, Central Asia.  The Atlantic Council is fortunate to have been able to work with very strong local partners to organize this forum. 

So first and foremost, we’d like to thank the Turkish ministry of energy and natural resources and the entire Turkish government for its support and amazing hospitality.  Our gratitude also goes out to our Atlantic Council forum co-chairs, our international advisory board members Dinu Patriciu, Guler Sabanci and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, our international advisory board chairman, Gen. Brent Scowcroft, as well as Mr. Paolo Scaroni of Eni. 

Furthermore, I want to thank other co-chairs of this initiative, Ahmet Calik of Calik Energy, thank you very much; Umberto Quadrino of Edison; Harry Sachinis of DEPA; Kazim Turker of Tukerler Construction, Industry & Trade; Mehmet Uysal of the TPAO Turkish petroleum corporation; and Tzvetan Vassilev of Corporate Commercial Bank of Bulgaria.  It’s a very strong lineup of friends of this initiative.
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