Secretary General

KABUL, 14 June 2012 – The OSCE is committed to supporting the Istanbul Process on regional security and co-operation for a secure and stable Afghanistan, said Marcel Peško, the Director of the Office of the OSCE Secretary General, today at the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Kabul.

The ministerial conference brought together high-level representatives from the “Heart of Asia” countries including Afghanistan as well as eight OSCE participating States, who discussed progress in the Istanbul process - a new format of co-operation and confidence building for the region with Afghanistan at its centre launched in 2011. The Process envisages political consultations, implementation of confidence-building measures and ensuring synergies among all regional organizations involved, including the OSCE.

“Afghanistan, an OSCE Partner for Co-operation since 2003, has been high on the OSCE agenda,” Peško said, emphasizing that the goal of the OSCE’s engagement with the country is to make “a tangible contribution to the on-going process of transition of responsibility” in an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-driven” process.

Peško spoke about support the OSCE can offer Afghanistan, including with implementing confidence-building measures, also in relation to countering terrorism and narcotics, and military information exchange, as well as with education, including through the OSCE Academy in Bishkek and the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe.

“The OSCE remains committed to supporting further steps towards the implementation of our common vision – a stable and prosperous Afghanistan in a stable and prosperous region,” Peško said.