BSCF
Black Sea Littoral States Border/Coast Guard Agencies Cooperation Forum (BSCF)
The meetings of Black Sea Littoral States Border/Coast Guard Agencies Cooperation Forum (BSCF) were inaugurated with the initiative and under the leadership of Turkey in 2000 with the participation of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation and Ukraine.
BSCF was institutionalised following the agreement signed during the 7th Meeting of the Leaders of the Black Sea Littoral States Border/Coast Guard Agencies, which was held in Istanbul on 07–09 November 2006.
The fundamental tasks of BSCF are;
•The promotion of peace and stability in the region on the basis of trust and security among Black Sea Littoral States,
•The enhancement of existing cooperation among Border/Coast Guard agencies in order to prevent the smuggling of drugs, psychotrop substances, their analogs and precursors, ammunition, explosive, poisonous, drastic, radioactive substances and petrol by sea, irregular migration and other kinds of illegal activities as well as strenghthening the safety and security of navigation in the Black Sea,
•Conducting the activities in the fields of counterterorism and weapon of mass destruction nonproliferation,
•The establishment of cooperation in the fields of search and rescue activities, protection of Black sea natural resources and prevention of fishery rules violation,
•The prevention of marine pollution and the protection of marine environment,
•The establishment and improvement of communication channels for the purposes of exchanging information,
•The preparation of personnel exchange programs with the aim of providing training on relevant issues,
•The promotion of scientific research activities on oceanoghraphic and hydrogrphic issues in the Black Sea.
Following Working Group Meetings are being conducted within the context of BSCF activities:
•“Maritime Security and Safety of Navigation in the Black Sea” hosted by Turkey,
•“Development of Information Exchange and Analysis of the Operational Situation” hosted by Bulgaria,
•“Development of Common Preventive System for Early Detection of Illegal Activities” hosted by Romania and
•“Information Exchange via the Automated Information Exchange System (AIES) and Information Systems Development” hosted by Russia.
The 19th Leaders Meeting was held on 07-08 November 2018 in Odesa/Ukraine. In that meeting, the BSCF chairmanship was handed over from Romania to Ukraine.
The 20th Leaders Meeting will be held on 16-18 October 2019 in Antalya/Turkey.
© 2019 Turkish Coast Guard Command