Kabar
Kyrgyzstan celebrated the 30th anniversary of joining the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic reported.
30 years ago on this day, during the 2nd meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Prague, Kyrgyzstan assumed obligations within the OSCE and became a full member of the world’s largest regional organization.
Over 30 years of joint cooperation with the OSCE, significant results have been achieved in carrying out reforms in all spheres of the republic’s life. In close cooperation with the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek, projects aimed at strengthening democratic institutions, improving the electoral system, strengthening the role of women in society, combating corruption and all manifestations of terrorism and extremism have been and are being implemented.
The OSCE Academy, created on the initiative of Kyrgyzstan, continues to successfully carry out its activities in Bishkek, which is unique and the only such educational project in the entire OSCE area. In the context of today’s acute regional security challenges, in particular, the complex of processes taking place in Afghanistan, the humanitarian and research role of the OSCE Academy is especially growing.
The Kyrgyz Republic participates on a permanent basis in the work of the main decision-making bodies of the OSCE. Every year at the meetings of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE, Kyrgyzstan is represented by the head of the foreign affairs agency and participates in the formation of decisions on a wide range of the agenda of the Organization. The delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic at a high level participated in the work of the OSCE Summits in Helsinki (1992), Budapest (1994), Lisbon (1996), Istanbul (1999) and Astana (2010), which became important milestones in the history of the development of the OSCE and confidence building between the participating states.
A high level of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the OSCE is also maintained. Kyrgyz parliamentarians actively participate in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA). A great success for the country was the successful holding for the first time in Bishkek in 2018 of the 17th autumn meeting of the OSCE PA, which was attended by more than 150 parliamentarians from 46 countries of Europe, Asia and North America.
Kyrgyzstan and its citizens are making their own contribution to the OSCE’s activities to resolve crises on the ground. Dozens of Kyrgyzstanis represent the country by working in the autonomous institutions and field operations of the OSCE. The republic is especially widely represented in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
The Kyrgyz Republic, noting with satisfaction the established dynamic level of cooperation with OSCE partners, is optimistic about the future, in which the rhetoric of dividing lines is leveled and the concept of comprehensive security in the common OSCE area is successfully implemented.
In this context, recognizing the importance of intensifying the dialogue to discuss relevant challenges and threats to the OSCE, Kyrgyzstan plans to hold this year’s Central Asia-OSCE High-Level Conference, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the accession of the states of the Central Asian region to the OSCE. It is expected that the Meeting will become the central event of a set of events on the occasion of the anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the OSCE, which l also includes joint holding of a number of scientific, academic and other events with the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Academy.