NEWS

President Rumen Radev and H.M. King Abdullah II of Jordan Host Aqaba Process Meeting

Bulgarian Head of State Rumen Radev and H.M. King Abdullah II of Jordan hosted in Sofia an Aqaba Process for the Balkans III high-level meeting to discuss the security environment with a focus on the Southeast European region. 

The forum is a follow-up to previous editions of the initiative dedicated to the Balkans: in 2016 in Aqaba, Jordan and in 2018 in Tirana, Albania. The meeting in Sofia, co-chaired by the Republic of Bulgaria and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, analysed the security architecture in the Balkans, regional mechanisms for information exchange and coordination of efforts in the fight against irregular migration, terrorism, radicalisation and extremism, including in the context of the challenges related to the consequences of military conflicts in the neighbouring regions. During the discussions, opportunities for cooperation to counter radicalisation among young people and online, as well as the risks arising from the use of artificial intelligence, were also discussed. President Rumen Radev held bilateral meetings within the framework of the forum.

The high-level meeting was attended by the President of Albania Bajram Begaj, the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljka Cvijanovic, the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, the President of Slovenia Natasa Pirc Musar, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, the President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic, the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic, the President of the Republic of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the Minister of the Interior of Belgium Bernard Quintin, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Maria Tripodi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Ana Cristina Tinka, Special Representative of Hungary for the Western Balkans Zsolt Bunford, Director of Norway's Domestic Intelligence Service Beate Gangas, France's Special Representative for Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Olivier Caron, regional director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans in the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development office Daniel Workman, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter, representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Interpol, the Global Internet Counter-Terrorism Forum and the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Studies in Jordan, Ambassador Alexios Marios Liberopoulos of Greece, Ambassador Miguel Alonso Berrio of Spain, Ambassador Haralambos Kafkarides of Cyprus, Ambassador Simon van der Burg of the Netherlands, Susan K. Falatko, Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim of the US Embassy in Bulgaria and Ambassador Hisashi Michigami of Japan.

The international meetings of the "Aqaba Process" initiated by H.M. King Abdullah II have been held since 2015, with the aim of exchanging ideas and expertise in an informal setting and promoting cooperation and coordination between countries, regional and international institutions and representatives of the non-governmental sector in the interest of international peace and security. Some of the meetings have focused on particular regions, and in addition to those dedicated to the Balkans, editions of the Aqaba Process have been held to date with a focus on East Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, and forums in cooperation with Jordan have been hosted over the years by Indonesia, Albania, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Rwanda, the United States, the United Nations, Singapore, Spain, Norway and Brazil.