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| Priority areas for Slovakia’s chairmanship of OSCE |
| Vienna, 23.07.2018 |
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| Today, 19 July 2018, at the meeting of OSCE Permanent Council and in the presence of the representatives of all participating and partner states, Lukáš Parízek, State Secretary and Special Representative of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs for Slovakia’s OSCE Chairmanship, presented priority areas of the Slovak chairmanship of the OSCE that the country will assume on 1 January 2019.
Six months prior to the beginning of the Slovak Chairmanship, the State Secretary outlined its direction, which is set to be actively dealing with themes across the three OSCE dimensions. In his address, the State Secretary stressed the need to revisit dialogue as one of the most relevant instruments of multilateral cooperation and highlighted the role of multilateral cooperation in today’s dynamically developing world. He pointed to the need to boost multilateral cooperation in the spirit of joint goals set, based on an open dialogue by the participating parties. “We will be talking about building greater trust, that has been fading away among the member states, not only concerning the exchange of military information between individual member states but also the overall communication within OSCE so that tension would de-escalate,” stated Parízek
The State Secretary also pointed to the need for solutions to the current conflicts in the OSCE region while emphasizing the importance of preventing, and not only responding to, emerging crises. “In the political and military areas, we are going to focus on conflicts that take place in the OSCE territory and our priority will be the conflict in Ukraine”.
The State Secretary Parízek indicated an effort during the Slovak Chairmanship to address the needs of people and the general public also via international institutions, which should be the primary interest of multilateral cooperation. He informed that the goal of the Slovak Chairmanship is to apply a proactive approach and a lead-by-example principle when tackling the topics of today.
“I am certain that important and demanding tasks are ahead of us. It does not mean, however, that we have to agree on everything, with everybody, and always. We can always, though, engage in dialogue. That we may be of different opinions can be taken for granted – this is exactly how we also may offer our stand when seeking common solutions” stated State Secretary Parízek in this regard.
Introducing the priority areas that will dominate the OSCE agenda next year is a traditional part of preparations for the chairmanship. It is a big and important challenge for every country and this is why it is always an event that every year meets with significant interest by other participating states.
The aim of Slovakia as the upcoming OSCE chairing country is to achieve that this largest regional grouping in the world, with 57 participating states, will remain a platform that will boost European and global security. Since January 2018 the Slovak Republic has been chairing the so-called OSCE Troika. In the first quarter of the year, the country chaired the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) and throughout 2018 Slovakia is leading the Mediterranean Contact Group (MCG).
Addressing priority areas was the first official presentation about the direction of Slovakia’s Chairmanship in 2019.
MZV |
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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