About Ministerial Conference
Ministerial Conference
A conference of ministers responsible for spatial planning and development of 11 Baltic Sea Region countries is to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania on 16 October 2009 in order to examine level of territorial cohesion in the Baltic Sea region and future co-operation between the Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea (VASAB) member states.
The main focus of the high level gathering will be the improved territorial integration of the Baltic Sea Region and its integration with other areas of Europe. Discussion will be dedicated to the Long-Term Perspective for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region with regard to trends and challenges for territorial development, territorial cohesion and perspective till 2030, with focus on urban networking and urban rural relations, accessibility, as well as the sea space planning and management.
This high profile meeting marks the 15th anniversary of the foundation of VASAB and it is the 7th Ministerial Conference for spatial planning and development. The previous one took place in 2005 in Gdansk, Poland.
VASAB is an organisation providing a ministerial platform and expert network for 11 Baltic Sea Region member states to coordinate spatial planning and development. The Baltic Sea Region encompasses 11 countries: Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, as well as parts of Russia (St. Petersburg City, the Republic of Karelia and the oblasts of Kaliningrad, Pskov, Novgorod, Leningrad and Murmansk) and Germany (the Länder of Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig- Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Berlin, and the Regierungsbezirk Lüneburg). Lithuania is the chairing country of VASAB between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010. The Ministry of the Environment is representing Lithuania in VASAB cooperation.
More information can be found at www.vasab.org.