Fostering dialogue through cross-border training for young Afghan and Turkmen diplomats at the OSCE in Vienna

VIENNA, 22 September 2016 – At the invitation of the German Federal Foreign Office, eleven young diplomats from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran today visited the OSCE in Vienna in order to gain better knowledge and understanding of the world’s largest regional security organization and meet representatives of the German OSCE Chairmanship and of the OSCE Secretariat. Prior to the visit, the group attended a day-long OSCE workshop in Berlin. Turkmenistan is an OSCE participating State, while Afghanistan is an OSCE Asian Partner for Co-operation.

"It is important to promote contacts and networking between young diplomats from different countries, even if they come from far away”, said Ambassador Ortwin Hennig, Programme Director of the Training for Diplomats from Afghanistan and the Region. “In an increasingly interconnected world, we need to foster co-operation and dialogue between neighbours everywhere, including beyond Europe. Talking to each other is a precondition for achieving peaceful solutions to problems. The OSCE in particular is an excellent example of addressing issues of security and prosperity through an inclusive and comprehensive approach”.

In Vienna, the group was welcomed by Ambassador Marcel Peško, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre. He emphasized the important role of the OSCE in shaping Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security, and pointed to ongoing divisions and the need to use the OSCE’s potential in one common forward-looking agenda, including with regard to the Central Asian region. “The OSCE played a stabilizing role in the post-Cold War period and now we need to expand the Organization’s role in addressing current security threats, such as radicalization, terrorism and irregular migration,” said Peško noting the need to build a global coalition to deal with these challenges.

Briefings on the work of the German OSCE Chairmanship, conflict prevention and the organization’s economic and environmental activities completed the OSCE module of the Vienna programme.

For these young diplomats, the visit was a good opportunity not only to improve their skills in various areas of diplomacy such as negotiating and public speaking, but also in getting to know other cultures. Maral Rahimova, a young diplomat from Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry, said that they benefited not only from being better acquainted with Germany and international organizations but also from meeting other participants and learning about their countries.

The visit to Vienna is part of a joint four-week-long seminar, organized annually by the German Federal Foreign Office, for young diplomats from Central and Southern Asia. Besides the OSCE module, it includes a variety of training modules taking place in Berlin and a study trip to NATO and the EU institutions in Brussels.