On 6 November, Bucharest will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the member states of the Central European Initiative. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will take over the chairmanship of the initiative.
This was stated in a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Minister has been personally invited to take part in the meeting.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stressed that chairing the CEI is recognition of Ukraine’s role in the region and opens up additional opportunities to advance Ukrainian interests.
“Ukraine’s chairmanship of this initiative is recognition of our country’s role in the region, which will be used to further promote Ukraine’s interests in the region,” he said.
Romania currently holds the CEI chair.
- The Central European Initiative is a regional organisation of Central and Eastern European countries whose work is aimed at establishing multilateral co-operation in the political, socio-economic, scientific and cultural spheres and, on that basis, helping to strengthen stability and security in the region. It comprised 17 countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Ukraine. In March 2022, Belarus’s membership was suspended due to its support for Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- Structurally, the CEI’s activities are carried out at three levels: heads of government, foreign ministers, and national co-ordinators of the Initiative’s member countries.
- CEI forums are generally held in the territory (in the capital) of the chairing country. The chairmanship rotates on an annual basis.
- Ukraine began developing contacts with the CEI in 1992 by taking part in the work of several of the Initiative’s working groups. In March 1994, our country obtained the status of a member of the CEI Associated Council, and on 31 May 1996 it became a full member.