Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan took part in the OSCE Ministerial Council

Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan took part in the OSCE Ministerial Council

Stockholm, December 2, 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi took part in the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council.

Opening the event, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, summed up the results and achievements of her country's chairmanship this year despite all the difficulties caused by the pandemic and other challenges that threaten the security of the OSCE region. In her address to the participants from 57 OSCE States, as well as Partners for Co-operation and senior officials from other international organizations, Minister Linde noted that the meeting in Stockholm was an opportunity to restore confidence and strengthen cooperation between OSCE participants.

In her report, OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid highlighted the important role of the Organization in addressing many of the challenges that have a negative impact on a comprehensive approach to security. According to Madame Schmid, the current situation in Afghanistan negatively affects not only the countries of Central Asia, but the entire OSCE region as well. In this context, the Organization can play an important role in coordinated actions within its mandate.

During the meeting, the ministers summed up this year’s work of OSCE under the chairmanship of Sweden and discussed salient issues of the regional and international agenda in the context of the deteriorating global epidemiological situation due to COVID-19.

Minister Tileuberdi spoke at the plenary session of the OSCE Ministerial Council and a number of thematic meetings devoted to the role and effectiveness of the Organization, discussing the situation in Afghanistan, and promoting the human dimension agenda.

In his statements, Minister Tileuberdi underlined the relevance of the goals and objectives enshrined in the 2010 Astana Declaration, especially in terms of building a common and indivisible Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community. In this context, he emphasized the role of the Organization as an important negotiating platform for resolving critical situations within the OSCE space, urging countries to join forces in shaping a common vision to strengthen dialogue and restore confidence-building measures.

On the sidelines of the event, Minister Tileuberdi held a number of separate talks with the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Norway, Andorra, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia, Armenia, as well as the OSCE Secretary General, NATO Deputy Secretary General and others. The meeting with the Armenian counterpart resulted in signing the Action Plan for Cooperation between Foreign Ministries of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Armenia for 2022-2023.

At the invitation of the Swedish Chairmanship, Minister Tileuberdi also spoke at the side event on “Strengthening the implementation of the OSCE commitments on democracy, human rights and the rule of law”. The Minister informed the participants about the work and achievements of Kazakhstan in the implementation of the Listening State concept initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The event was also attended by Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as the next OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in 2022.