GUUAM’S INSTITUTIONALIZATION MAPPED OUT

The five ministers seemed satisfied with GUUAM’s unprecedented progress since the September meeting of the heads of state in New York. They reviewed preparations for the summit which is scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2001 in Kyiv for institutionalizing GUUAM–that is, developing common bodies in the areas of foreign policy and economic relations on political and economic levels. The Committee of National Coordinators, consisting of medium-level officials, represents the first institutional incarnation of GUUAM. That Committee has held low-key sessions in Kyiv, Tbilisi, Baku and Chisinau. The ministerial meeting in Vienna marked the emergence of a common consultative and policy body at that level. The countries will next set up a Public Consultative Council of GUUAM.

The Kyiv summit should inaugurate the holding of regular meetings of the heads of state at six months’ intervals. That summit will approve some plans for transport routes and a GUUAM Free Trade Zone. Georgia is currently drafting a free-trade zone blueprint, and Ukraine a consular convention. Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anatoly Zlenko reaffirmed those intentions in a post-conference statement expressing the five countries’ common stand. In contrast to Moscow’s approach to the CIS, no one in GUUAM proposes to create supranational bodies or a military bloc. And in stark contrast to the CIS, there is no potential hegemonic country in GUUAM.

“The Fortnight in Review” is prepared by senior analysts Jonas Bernstein (Russia), Stephen Foye (Security and Foreign Policy), and Vladimir Socor (Non-Russian republics). Editor, Stephen Foye. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4526 43rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of “The Fortnight in Review” is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation