The 10th conference of the SEDM, which pooled the defence ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, the United States and Ukraine, will focus on regional defence and military cooperation, measures against proliferation of mass destruction weapons, the deployment of troops from southeastern Europe in Afghanistan, and safety and security in Kosovo.
The host of the Washington meeting, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfled, said that the membership of the SEDM had been doubled since its establishment in 1996.
At this conference Ukraine was formally admitted to SEDM membership. Moldova has observer status, while Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina are guests.
The SEDM process was launched in 1996 with the aim of helping aspiring countries to join the European Union and NATO.