The OSCE highly appreciates Kazakhstan's contribution to promoting its values
Bratislava, 6 December 2019 — The capital of Slovakia hosted the final stages of the 26th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE Ministerial Council).
On the sidelines of the event, bilateral meetings lead by the head of the Kazakh delegation, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko, took place to discuss pressing issues of the international agenda and bilateral cooperation with the OSCE.
During the meeting with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia - Special Representative for the OSCE Chairmanship Lukas Parizek, the fruitful interaction of the two countries in promoting the Organization’s goals and objectives was highlighted. In particular, Slovakia supported Kazakhstan’s initiative to hold a round table on the topic of Afghanistan on October 9 this year in Nur-Sultan, in conjunction with the visit of the OSCE Permanent Representatives to Central Asian countries. This event demonstrated the importance of creating synergies between key international and regional organizations involved in the process of assisting Afghanistan, as well as Kazakhstan’s potential as a mediator. The meeting’s participants also discussed the positive dynamics of bilateral relations, marked by visits of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Miroslav Lajčák and Chairman of the Parliament Andrej Danko to Kazakhstan in the previous year.
In addition, a meeting with Gent Cakaj, the head of the Foreign Ministry of Albania, whose country will chair the OSCE in 2020, was held. The Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister expressed support for Tirana’s upcoming mission, reaffirming the commitment of Nur-Sultan to strengthen cooperation with the OSCE.
During the conversation with the Permanent Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland Matti Anttonen, the planned visit of the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, to Kazakhstan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was discussed.
With Simon Coveney, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland, Mr Vassilenko discussed the prospects of strengthening the legal framework of bilateral relations and business cooperation, including the establishment of joint export production of agricultural products in Kazakhstan.
In order to discuss the expansion of the country's cooperation with international organizations, the Kazakh delegation met with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, as well as European Union Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian.
The OSCE Secretary General stressed the importance of the Astana Declaration adopted at the OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan in 2010, and also praised the contribution of Nur-Sultan in promoting the organization's values. The head of the Kazakh delegation informed the Secretary General of the measures taken by Nur-Sultan to build confidence and mutual understanding within the OSCE. In particular, this might be facilitated by a uniform deployment of the Organization’s structures throughout its area of responsibility. As the First President, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev noted, this process can begin with the establishment of new institutions in various countries, including the Asian part of the OSCE. Kazakhstan is, therefore, promoting the initiative to create, within the EXPO site in Nur-Sultan, the OSCE Thematic Centre for Sustainable Interconnection to bring the Organization’s work to a new level in the economic and environmental dimension.