Bishkek Conference on 13 and 14 December will focus on concrete measures to prevent and counter terrorism

BISHKEK, 11 December 2001 - The prevention and countering of terrorism will be on top of the agenda of an international conference organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) on 13 and 14 December in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Less than ten days after the conclusion of the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Bucharest, where the Organization's 55 participating States adopted a broad-reaching document on combating terrorism, a wide range of international organizations will discuss in Bishkek how the scourge of terrorism can be countered on as broad and comprehensive a platform as possible.

Some 280 representatives from more than 60 states and international organizations will attend the conference. Key speakers will include the Kyrgyz President, Askar Akaev, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, the ODCCP Executive Director, United Nations Under-Secretary General Pino Arlacchi, and the OSCE Secretary General, Jan Kubis.

Since 11 September, international terrorism has been increasingly recognized as a global problem and a complex challenge. It is linked with transnational organized crime, money laundering, and illegal arms and drugs trafficking. The states in the Central Asian region have a particularly important role to play within the efforts of the international community to cope with these threats to international peace and security.

The Bishkek International Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia: Strengthening Comprehensive Efforts to Counter Terrorism will be the first opportunity to discuss about more concrete steps to prevent and counter terrorism, especially with regard to providing practical support to Central Asian participating States. It is expected that the participants will also adopt a Programme of Action.

The opening session on 13 December, 9:00 to 9:30, and the closing session on 14 December, 17:30 to 18:00, in the Bishkek Hyatt Hotel, will be open to the media. Access to the conference premises will be granted on the basis of media pools only to cameramen and photographers. The sessions will be broadcast via Closed Circuit TV to the press centre in the Kabar Press Agency.

The conference will conclude on 14 December at 18:00 with a press conference in the Hyatt Hotel, which will be open to all media.