The Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter, took part in an informal meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the CEI, the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII) on 23 September 2011.
The gathering was held in New York at the margins of the UN General Assembly session and was chaired by Vuk Jeremic, Foreign Minister of Serbia, which is presiding the three initiatives in 2011.
The participants welcomed the initiative and exchange of views in this format. They stressed a need to strengthen cooperation and synergies among the CEI, the SEECP and the AII. Special attention was paid to economic cooperation and the need to upgrade infrastructure and transport facilities in the region. The Ministers emphasised that a pragmatic, flexible project-oriented approach serves the region best. They also called for the inclusion of private business in designing and implementing projects.