Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov' video address to participants of the XVI Union of the Baltic Cities General Conference, Moscow, October 29, 2021
29 October 202111:15
2200-29-10-2021
Mr President,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to welcome the participants and guests of the XVI General Conference of the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC).
The Baltic has always been a common home for millions of people. Ensuring their security and prosperity is a noble goal for diplomats, politicians, local governments and the business community. All of us would like the Baltic to be a sustainable, prosperous, environmentally clean and forward-looking region when it comes to socioeconomic development and the implementation of innovative technology.
The attainment of this goal is being promoted by a ramified network of Baltic cooperation, which includes national, regional and municipal levels. During last year's ministerial meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), Russia spoke out in favour of strengthening inter-level synergy by creating a vertical cooperation system involving the CBSS, the Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation (BSSSC) network and the UBC.
The UBC is a vital mechanism of Baltic cooperation with a 30-year-long history. Over the past years, it has become an in-demand platform that offers regional cities broad opportunities for exchanging experience in various spheres of joint project activity.
Cooperation in the Baltic could be more effective if new members were invited to join the UBC. Russia is working towards this end. So far, St Petersburg is the only Russian member of the UBC. We hope that other cities in North-West Russia will join the union soon.
Between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, Russia will coordinate two Baltic cooperation bodies: the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Group of Personal Representatives of the Baltic States' Heads of Government on Organised Crime. We are convinced that the UBC should be involved in the implementation of initiatives within the framework of Russia's cross-presidency.
We are always open to mutually beneficial contacts and constructive dialogue with our partners. This must not be prevented by our countries' differences regarding a number of issues on the common European agenda. Only by joining forces and focusing on practical efforts in the interests of people in the region will we be able to greatly improve the quality of life in the Baltic Sea region.
I hope that Baltic cooperation will not only maintain momentum in the next few years, but that it will also continue developing to become a major factor for preserving the region as a zone of confidence, stability and neighbourliness.
I would like to wish you every success.
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