GUAM

GUAM logo

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GUAM (temporarily GUUAM ) - Organization for Democracy and Economic Development ( Georgian დემოკრატიისა და ეკონომიკური განვითარების ორგანიზაცია სუამი , Ukrainian ГУАМ Організація за демократію та економічний розвиток , Azerbaijani GUAM Demokratiya və İqtisadi İnkişaf naminə Təşkilat , Romanian GUAM Organizaţia pentru Democratie şi Dezvoltare Economica , english GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development ) - is a security alliance of the four states Georgia , Ukraine , Azerbaijan and Moldova . The abbreviation is made up of the first letters of the member states.

history

GUAM was founded on October 10, 1997 in Strasbourg (France) during a summit meeting of the Council of Europe as the informal association GUAM. The GUAM, founded with US support , was intended to counterbalance Russia's influence in the region.

The alliance has meanwhile lost its importance. Uzbekistan became a member in 1999, suspended its membership, joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and left the GUAM on May 5, 2005. Azerbaijan increasingly oriented itself towards Turkey , Moldova towards Russia . Only two of the five heads of state attended the 2004 summit in Yalta .

After the change of power in Ukraine in the course of the "Orange Revolution" , the GUAM was revived. They wanted to make Ukraine and Georgia a union of those countries that were striving for integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures. The Presidents of Lithuania and Romania , Valdas Adamkus and Traian Băsescu , as well as OSCE Secretary General Ján Kubiš therefore also took part in the GUAM summit on April 22, 2005 in Chișinău (Moldova) . The participants of the meeting adopted a declaration on democracy from the Caspian to the Black Sea , which deals with the development of democracy, economy as well as security and stability in the member countries.

GUAM logo on a postage stamp for the May 2006 summit in Kiev

At the summit meeting in Kiev on May 23, 2006, the presidents of the four member states, Viktor Yushchenko , Mikheil Saakashvili , İlham Əliyev and Vladimir Voronin , signed the Statute of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM . This transformed the informal association into a fully fledged international organization .

After a break of almost ten years, the first GUAM summit took place in Kiev on March 27, 2017. The member states reached an agreement on the establishment of a common free trade area. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the organization has gained more geopolitical importance than ever, as part of the territories of these countries are controlled by separatist forces, which in turn are directly or indirectly supported by Moscow.

The Secretary General of GUAM is the former Georgian Finance Minister Valery Chechelashvili .