New York, 25 September 2025 – Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) gathered for the annual meeting, convened on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly Session in New York yesterday, co-organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and Bulgaria’s SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office.

The meeting, co-chaired by the RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanovic and Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, marked the SEECP’s 30th anniversary under the theme “30 Years of SEECP: Navigating the Future through Regional Stability, Security and Sustainable Transformation”. The discussion agenda in New York reflected that forward-looking focus, aiming to translate shared priorities into concrete, region-wide delivery.

The RCC underlined the SEECP’s three-decade evolution into the region’s most inclusive political forum and reiterated its support as SEECP’s operational arm, bridging dialogue with delivery across smart (digital and innovation), skilled (people-centred) and sustainable (green transition) pillars.

“Thirty years on, the SEECP remains our most representative political platform, and the RCC is here to keep turning its spirit of cooperation into tangible results people can feel. That means doubling down on practical delivery: smarter connectivity, stronger skills and greener growth, underpinned by trust and security. Our citizens want proof, not promises. With the unity demonstrated in New York today, I am confident we can convert ambition into action and make the next decade of regional cooperation the most impactful yet,” said RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanovic.

The SEECP Ministers commended the RCC’s work and reiterated their full support to ongoing regional agendas. Furthermore, they exchanged views on strengthening regional stability and security, accelerating green and digital transformation, and translating shared priorities into concrete delivery for citizens, areas aligned with RCC’s new Strategy and Work Programme 2026–2028, built around three pillars: Smart, Skilled, and Sustainable. They underlined the importance of resilience through transformation and the need for practical, people-centred results.

During his visit to the United States, earlier this week in New York, RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanovic signed a Letter of Intent with Ivana Zivkovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, setting out a framework to strengthen and structure cooperation in support of governance, sustainable development, and resilience across South East Europe. He also took part in the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative. RCC Secretary General’s visit to U.S. will continue in Washington DC.