ISTANBUL - ''Southeast European Multinational Peace Keeping Force Politico-Military Steering Committee'' and ''Southeast European Defense Ministerial Process Coordination Committee'' meetings started under Turkey's chairmanship in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Ambassador Ugur Ergun of Turkey is chairing the meetings that are close to press.
Member nations Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia and representatives of the United States, NATO and European Union (EU) are attending the meetings to which also Turkish General Staff Operations Department Chairman Vice-General Metin Yavuz Yalcin is participating.
''Activities of the Southeast European Brigade and Its Use in Peace Support Operation and projects regarding Coordination Committee of the Southeast European Defense Ministerial Process and regional cooperation'' will be discussed during the meetings.
Meetings during which also ''several joint projects for cooperation in areas of defense and security under good neighborhood relations among member nations'' are going to be assessed, will end on September 30th.
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, who signed an agreement in Macedonia in 1998 aiming to contribute to regional security and improve good neighborhood relations, set up Southeast European Multinational Peace Force Initiative. Southeast European Brigade, which is the first project of this initiative, was formed on August 31st, 1999.
Turkey took over rotating two-year chairmanship of the Politico-Military Steering Committee and Coordination Committee of the Southeast European Defense Ministerial Process on July 25th, 2003.
(MS-ULG) 28.09.2004