The Thirteenth International Scientific Conference “Danube – River of Cooperation” took place on October 18 – 20, 2002, in Kladovo.
The basic theme of the conference was the cross-border co-operation of Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria in the field of planned exploitation of the river Danube in accordance with the EU standards of sustainable development, co-operation and peaceful co-existence of the people in the region of Southeast Europe.
Other themes at the conference were the economic relations, plans for development of the navigation route with the presentation of relevant projects, the internal organisation of the Euro-region, finance and investment activities. In the framework of the conference a regular meeting of the SECI Working Group on Danube Transport was held.
We organized the conference in cooperation with the Institute of International Politics and Economics. The main donor of the confernece was the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Other supporting institutions and organisations: the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the FRY, the Federal Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations of the FRY, the Embassies of Romania and Bulgaria in FRY, the OESCE, the Hydro-energetic and Navigation System “Đerdap”, the Institute for Development of Water Resources “Jaroslav Černi”, Center for South Eastern European Studies, and others.
At the Conference 199 participants registered, 61 international and 138 domestic citizens. Among international participants from Rumania were 31, from Bulgaria 12, from Hungary 5, from Austria 4, from Bosnia and Herzegovina 4, and one from each Italy, Germany, Russia, USA and Turkey.
The basic aims of the XIII Conference were:
- Declaration supporting all kinds of cross-border co-operation, especially of Euro-region, to be signed by the foreign ministers of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria.
- Evaluation of relevant projects for the development of the region and Corridor VII (for example, projects on infrastructure development, navigation, tourism, technical and financial infrastructure, etc…)
- Presentation and identification of pilot projects on local level along the Danube, relevant for the region.
Program of the Conference
October 17, Thursday – Belgrade, organised transportation to Kladovo
October 18, Friday – Kladovo:
| 09,00 – 09,30 | OPENING CEREMONY President of Municipality of Kladovo, Zoran Nenadović Representatives of Ministries of Foreign Affairs of FRY, Bulgaria and Romania President of International Scientific Forum “Danube – River of Cooperation”, Edita Stojić Karanović Representative of SECI, Branislava Stankov |
| 09,30 – 13,00 | 4TH MEETING OF SECI WORKGROUP FOR TRANSPORTATION ON THE DANUBE
Introduction and report on project status Presentation of organisations working on Danube (fields and method of work) Constitution of work subgroups (transport logistic, rehabilitation and modernisation of ports and the system of inland waterways, tourism) Defining the program of the work subgroups Presentation of the Business conference of the Danube co-operation process Presentation of international financial institutions and programs relevant to the projects of the work group Conclusions |
| 13,00 – 15,00 | LUNCH |
| 15,00 – 17,30 | Danube – Integrating the Region
The role of the region in the future development of EU INTERREG – EU program for stimulating the cross border co-operation Regional initiatives in Southeast Europe – a frame for cross border co-operation Cross border co-operation in central and east Europe Economic Development of FRY, Rumania and Bulgaria and the Possibilities of Improvement in their Economic Co-operation The Revision of the Danube Convention – Consequences for the Improvement of Navigation on the Danube Legal Aspects of Water Management in the Danube Basin Sustainable economic development of the Danube-region and the International Regulation in this Field Regional Co-operation in Monitoring the Danube and its Tributaries upstream and downstream from the HE Plant “Djerdap I” Regional Significance of the Development and Modernisation of the Hydro-energetic System “Đerdap” Euro-regions in Southeast Europe The Role of the NGO-s in Developing Cross-border Cooperation The European Model of Local Self-government and the Role of the Steady Conferences of the Cities in the Development Models and Experiences of Cross-border Cooperation of the Local Self-Governments |
| 21,00 – 23,00 | CULTURAL EVENT |
October 19, Saturday – Kladovo
| 10,00 – 13,00 | Overview the Projects Significant for the Development of the Danube-region – in Transportation, Development of Multimodal Transport, Tourism Dejan Radojčić, Krsta Pasković, Zoran Novaković and the representatives of Vienna Municipality The Significance of Infrastructural Development Representative of H.E. Plant Đerdap Representative of Port of Turn Severin Resume of the Conference plenary sessions |
| 13,00 – 15,00 | LUNCH |
| 15,00 – 18,00 | SIGHTSEEING, ORGANIZED BY THE MUNICIPALITY KLADOVO AND HE PLANT “ĐERDAP” |
| 18,00 – 21,00 | Round Table “Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” (Members of the Ecology Section of the ISF “DRC” and Guests) |
