Check against delivery Embargo: 28 November 2001 at 12.00

I think that it is appropriate that I speak to you at the closing of this meeting, rather than at the opening, as this will be by last appearance before Working Table III as Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact.

I would like to congratulate all the participants for their invaluable input, our Hungarian hosts for perfect organisation of this event, and above all, State Secretary Kim Traavik for his consistently excellent leadership of Working Table III.

We have started on this road together, Kim and I. We have been through the thick and the thin of it all from the beginning. It is hard to describe how much I appreciated his support throughout our time together - and you in this room will know how difficult some of times were.

I congratulate him also on his appointment as State Secretary and would like to express my appreciation of his temporary agreement to continue as our Chairman even though his new post has increased both his responsibilities and his public profile to a large extent.

Kim and I have worked together to ensure the fulfilment of the goals of Cologne and Sarajevo towards the goal of a South Eastern Europe fully welcomed and prepared to join our wider European family.

Looking back, I see that we have spent some good times identifying the priorities and strategies of the Stability Pact. In that respect I have witnessed once more the confident steps taken by Working Tables for implementing these priority areas, strategies and action plans.

I consider it vital that we continue to work on both sides of the road, namely the reform commitments of the countries of the region and the very important input of donors.

We have all had our share of disappointments - both with the inability of the international community to deliver financial assistance in as timely a manner as many of us would have liked, and in the slowness of some regional countries moving ahead in some important areas of legislation.

However, I do not have to tell this audience how much progress we have made since the establishment of the Stability Pact and Working Table III. We have gone a long way into establishing regional cooperation and regional ownership.

I have said many, many times, that the Stability Pact belongs to the countries of South Eastern Europe, that the regional ownership of this process is one of the main features that make the Pact such a valuable instrument.

I know of no other process where regional countries, donors, specialized agencies and representatives of civil society meet as equals in order to chart the way ahead for peace and prosperity.

This Working Table is also special in the unique way it combines the internal and external aspect of security. This is an indication how several aspects of security are intricately inter-linked.

One important example is the subject of Small Arms and Light Weapons that was discussed in the plenary. In this respect, I am happy to see the Working Table espoused the Implementation Plan as a key contribution to local perceptions of an improving security environment. The plan stresses the importance of practical approaches and seeks to implement and apply a common body of knowledge of solutions. The subject of SALW is closely linked to other broader initiatives in both sub-tables (mine action/SPOC/anti-trafficking).

Notwithstanding, it has been said that Working Table III is actually two Working Tables, with different clientele and differing objectives. That is to say working closely with European Commission in the Justice and Home Affairs sub-table, and with NATO in the Defence sub-table.

I agree that we have a specialized clientele, but not that our objectives differ. This is why I fully support the concept of Security Sector Reform, the unifying principle adopted by this Working Table. Through the pursuit of Security Sector Reform, we move towards European and Euro-Atlantic standards so important to the future of South Eastern Europe.

Obviously, we do not work in a vacuum in South Eastern Europe. The post-September global political environment effected the Stability Pact as well.

It has to be emphasized that the parameters of the fight against international terrorism are not limited to armed conflict. In fact, armed conflict can be seen as only the visible aspect of counter-terrorism activities. The most important is the political will of the countries to unite this scourge.

I believe the developments further emphasize the importance, in the longer term to create a political, economic, and social environment that is hostile to the development of the conditions, which lead to terrorism.

In that respect, I was especially pleased to see that the culture of regional ownership and regional cooperation in South Eastern Europe produced the Bucharest anti-terrorism declaration. I was further delighted to see that the regional countries came together once more here in Budapest to follow on the promises they made in the declaration with concrete action.

I leave the Stability Pact knowing how much we have accomplished, but also with a keen appreciation of the work I am leaving to my successor.

I congratulate you on your successes, and challenge you to impress my successor with your continued efforts as you have so impressed me.

I thank you for your commitment, your energy, your imagination, and your realism, and for the opportunity you have given me to contribute to our shared goals.

Thank you.