Developing an Identity for the
Black Sea as an Economic Region
Barry Kolodkin, Regional Programme Manager
ICBSS 5th International Black Sea Symposium
Athens, Greece
5 July 2012
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Black Sea Trade & Investment Programme
 Implementer: UNDP
 Donors: Greece & Turkey
 Partners/Donors: BSEC &
BSEC Business Council
 Beneficiaries:
 Enterprises
 Government agencies
 Business associations
 Began in 2007; project office
in Athens, Greece
 Objective: To stimulate intraregional trade and
investment among BSEC
countries
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Regional Focus
 Emphasize cross border economic activity
 Business facilitation events
 Training for business support organizations and
investment promotion agencies
 Business development assistance
 Green business/sustainable development
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Sectors
Packaging
Food products and wine
Tourism
Construction materials
ICT
Logistics
Renewable energy
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WHY?
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REGIONAL IDENTITY = GREATER AWARENESS
Better awareness should lead to more foreign trade
and investment, more tourism, and better
economic cooperation among BSEC countries
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INCREASED COOPERATION
= GREATER OPPORTUNITY
Market Access, Lower Cost of Trade, Higher Profitability, Regional Market
Development – EU, NAFTA, APEC
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Regional Brand/Identity
MIDDLE EAST = OIL
PACIFIC RIM = TECHNOLOGY
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT = OUTSOURCING
BLACK SEA = ENERGY OR ??
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GDP
MOLDOVA 7.0%
TURKEY 6.6%
GEORGIA 5.5%
UKRAINE 4.7%
ARMENIA 4.6%
RUSSIA 4.3%
BULGARIA 3.0%
= POTENTIAL
-- (2011) est. Global Finance
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350 MILLION PEOPLE
4 TRILLION USD GDP
> ½ TRILLION USD IMPORTS
= A REAL MARKET
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


ENERGY SOURCE?
GATEWAY TO
MIDDLE EAST?
ASIA?
CRADLE OF
CIVILIZATION?



CORRUPTION?
LOW INTENSITY
CONFLICT?
OLD FASHIONED?
…UNDEFINED
www.undpforblacksea.org
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+
3 EU states
2 Preaccession/accession states
6 CIS states
3 CEFTA states
2 not WTO + Russian WTO ratification
= Difficult economic cooperation
SOLUTION: Convergence not strict compliance to
the Acquis and EU norms. Comprehensive, familiar,
to all, attractive to EU nations, supports states with
EU entry ambitions, standardization
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COOPTITION is a phrase borrowed
from the technology industry where
competitive companies use common
standards and realize that a certain
amount of cooperation will benefit
the market place overall.
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Supporting A Regional Identity
• Better transportation
• Green energy/economy
links
development
• Full utilization of
• Expand tourism
regional funding
• Creating a brand
• Regional stock exchange
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www.undpforblacksea.org
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Brand Assets
ENIRA
DACIA
STOLICHNAYA
BIT DEFENDER
LUKOIL
NEMIROFF
ARCELIK
BEKO
CAVIAR
SAPERAVI
DRACULA
KLITSCHKO
BALCHIK
MAMAIA
SOCHI
ODESSA
SANTORINI
BALTIKA
VIOHALCO
ANTALYA
INTRACOM
EURO CUP
TURK TELECOM
BEELINE
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CREATE A VISION
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A Vision for a Black Sea Identity
WORLD AWARENESS OF HIGH ECONOMIC
GROWTH
GOOD REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION
STRONG REGIONAL TOURISM
COOPTITION
STRONG BSEC AS A REGIONAL FORUM FOR
PROJECTS AND IDEAS
IMAGE AS A PLACE OF OLD AND NEW,
TRADITIONAL ENERGY AND GREEN ENERGY
REGIONAL BRAND PROFESSIONALLY DEVELOPED
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