FICT Council Meeting of June 26-28, 2012
From 26 to 28 June 2012, a Council Meeting of the Forum for International Cooperation and Trade (FICT) was held in Ísðor, Yukland. It was the second Council Meeting since the organisation's establishment in 2011. Present were full delegations of five of the member states, the State of Adzhatia, the Kingdom of Kaupelan, Kingdom of Tarmorya, the Republic of Yukland and the Republic of Yutyrama, as well as a representative of Dhram Phá. Also present were delegations of the Republic of Île de Romanhe and the Republic of the Vosks and the Gurds.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
C2.1 Dhram Phá FICT Council Meeting Costs
Phuóps Phuáp, representative of Dhram Phá, asked the FICT members to pay their share of the costs of the last Council Meeting in Dhram Ɖú.
The Council decided that the costs would be paid in equal shares of 1/9 per member state. The member states present promised to make the respective payments in due order, after which Phuóps Phuáp thanked the Council and left the Meeting.
C2.2 FICT Treaty – review
The Ísðor Treaty is proposed to replace the Purikali Treaty. Only the Adzhatian delegation had some additions to the proposed treaty, regarding article 2a and a proposed new chapter 4 about the Observer Status.
The amended Treaty was approved by five member states.
Upon a question by the Adzhatian delegation regarding the discontinuation of the memberships of Chimor, Dhram Phá, Harrawi and Khusqaikama, the Chairwoman issued a declaration that these memberships were indeeed discontinued as far as the Council is concerned. Three countries concerned (Chimor, Harrawi and Khusqaikama) already unilaterally denounced the Treaty of Purikali ahead of the Conference. Dhram Phá decided to terminate its membership on 16 June, but did not formally denounce the Purikali treaty and is not planning to do so formally either. The country considers the termination of its membership effective with the signing (by the remaining FICT countries) of the Ísðor Treaty on 26 June.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
C2.3 - C2.4
The review of the budget and the committees is done simultaneously. The proposal is thus:
The Organization FICT headquarter is located in Purikali, Kaupelan. The organisation consists of the following entities:
FICT General Assembly
The General Assembly is held annually – or in extraordinary session if deemed necessary by the Conference of Ambassadors – with the heads of government of the Member States.
FICT Conference of Ambassadors
The Conference is formed by ambassadors from the Member State to discuss and approve the proposals for the organisation. The most important proposals are brought to vote in the General Assembly. The conference is chaired by a Secretary General, who takes the position on a rotational process in alphabetical order of the Member States to exercise the mandate for a period of six months.
FJC – FICT Juridical Committee
FJC aims to support juridical decisions of the Conference of Ambassadors. FJC is formed with representatives from the Members.
FSCH – FICT Secretariat for Cultural Heritage
FSCH aims to promote activities related to the preservation of the culture of the peoples of FICT.
FSTS - FICT Secretariat of Tourism and Sports
FSTS intends to promote the flow of tourists among the member states and between FICT and other countries and sports as a way of integrate the Member States.
FSTE – FICT Secretariat for Trade and Economy
FSTE aims to promote the economy of the Member States and the trade among them and also between the bloc of FICT nations and other countries.
FESD – Fund for Economic and Social Development
FESD aims to finance economic and social development programs submitted to the Conference. Members can borrow money from FESD at low interest rate. From the yearly contribution to FESD, 90% is for financing purposes and 10% reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters, epidemic diseases or other situations that can affect the Member States. The approval of financing and emergency funds is decided by the Conference.
The Budget The contribution of each Member State is 0.1% of the GDP of the previous year. Based on the above organization, the budget would be: * 80% of the budget is addressed to FESD * 20% of the budget is addressed for administrative costs, personnel, housing and FICT organs.
The budget (and therefore the proposed structures) were approved with four votes in favour and one abstention (Tarmorya).
The Adzhatian delegation asked why Kaupelan supported this proposal, although it will have to pay far more than previously proposed, when Kaupelan made a point of putting a maximum to its contribution. The Kaupelan prime minister answered that she told the Kaupelanese parliament that the amount would be necessary to operate the new organization where the Kaupelanese economy represents more than 50% of the total. The country would pay exactly in the same way that the FICTS members paid it for years: 0.1%. Furthermore, differently of the previous FICT budget, Kaupelan would pay only 20% of that value for the expenditures of the organisation. The major part would be invested in FESD, to loan money at low interest rates to member governments to be applied in social and economic projects, so it would remain as a capital. The Kaupelanese parliament accepted these arguments.
C2.5 Agreements - review
Two agreements were issued for approval during the last Council meeting, but were never discussed in the end: a short-term visa agreement and a free trade agreement. Yutyrama proposed some modifications to both the agreements, but the agreements were presented in their original forms, modification discussions being postponed to the Conference of Ambassadors to discuss. The short-term visa agreement was therefore adopted with four votes in favour (Yutyrama abstained); the free trade agreement was adopted with three votes in favour (Yutyrama and Adzhatia abstained).
C2.6 Other issues
C2.6a The Chairman/Secretary General of Conference
There was some discussion about whether or not the current Chairwoman of the Conference of Ambassadors, ms. Isèbel Mai Kurataata, was in fact 'interim' or in full capacity. The Adzhatian delegation argued the latter, as ms. Kurataata succeeded sSiôŋ Hau normally when the Harrawi ambassador became unavailable to do so. Ms. Kurataata answered that she considered herself interim based on the uncertainties about the continuation of FICT after the Council Meeting in Dhram Phá.
When the new treaty enters into force, the Chairman will be renamed Secretary General. The Yukkish delegation proposed that the mandate of the Secretary General would start on 1 July and end on 31 December, but according to the Ísðor Treaty that was approved earlier in this meeting, this is (yet) impossible. According to article 66 of the treaty, an acting Chairman of the Conference of Ambassadors has to be appointed, until the first Secretary General will take office when the treaty enters into force.
The alphabetical rotating sequence of Secretaries General will restart with the first member state that has ratified the Treaty of Ísðor at the moment the treaty enters into force. Yukland will postpone the discussion to change the starting date of the Secretary General's mandate.
C2.6b Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held in April 2013. The exact date will be decided upon later by the Conference of Ambassadors.
C2.6c New Members
Île de Romanhe and Voskia applied for membership. Tarmorya proposed to postpone the admission of Voskia to the next summit, but the memberships were approved with 5 votes in favour of Île de Romanhe and 4 votes in favour of Voskia.
C2.6d Other
The logo and flag are currently being designed.
Thursday 28 June 2012
Approval of documents