Distinguished colleagues, academicians and ladies and gentlemen, After my several visits to Cairo and Egypt in my former capacity as Ambassador and Chairman of Strategic Research Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have continued my contacts with my Egyptian counterparts and colleagues in different for a during my several visits to Egypt, as well as our hosting them in Turkey.

The Desert and Terrorism

I was given the privilege and pleasure of chairing this discussion session. Before opening the floor for discussions and for your precious remarks about our theme “the desert and terrorism”, I would like to make some remarks of my own. But I would like to make one remark from the beginning which may be normally made at the end. I would emphasize that the fertile ground for terrorism is not in the physical desert, but the cultural desert.
Mister Chairman, distinguished participants, dear friends; It is my pleasure to take part in this very interesting "International Balkan Congress". I would like to express my appreciation for excellent organization and commend previous speakers which offered us a lot of fresh and new ideas and views on the present situation and the future of the Balkans.

Securıty, Stabılıty And Peace In The Balkans

First of all I would like to express gratitude to our hosts, the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM) and Tekirdağ Governorship, together with Namık Kemal University who, by organizing this International Congress, gave us the opportunity to meet each other and exchange views on issues in which we are all interested, since we share the same region, its past, present and future.
I have to confess that I wrote this speech once again after the Conferen-ce on Development of Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe, which was held in Brussels on 17 and 18 April. The preparation of the speech was not easy for I had to do it on the background of occurring scandals in Bulgaria that were challenging the very functioning of the democratic institutions.
Mr. Chairman, distinguish ministers, ambassadors, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, This is very exciting momentum we live in, especially regarding diplo-matic and international relations and new emerging democracies in globalized world. Croatia is a relatively new democracy. Although Croatia is mostly known as touristic destination, with vast historical and cultural heritage, on political level Croatia strives to serve as an example and guiding light for sta-bility in the Balkan region.

Areas

Continents ( 5 Fields )
Action
 Contents ( 480 ) Actiivities ( 219 )
Areas
TASAM Africa 0 150
TASAM Asia 0 241
TASAM Europe 0 44
TASAM Latin America & Carribea... 0 35
TASAM North America 0 10
Regions ( 4 Fields )
Action
 Contents ( 179 ) Actiivities ( 54 )
Areas
TASAM Balkans 0 93
TASAM Middle East 0 63
TASAM Black Sea and Caucasus 0 16
TASAM Mediterranean 0 7
Identity Fields ( 2 Fields )
Action
 Contents ( 176 ) Actiivities ( 75 )
Areas
TASAM Islamic World 0 147
TASAM Turkic World 0 29
TASAM Türkiye ( 1 Fields )
Action
 Contents ( 229 ) Actiivities ( 60 )
Areas
TASAM Türkiye 0 229