Visit to Lisbon of Bruce George, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

LISBON, 8 October 2002 - The President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Bruce George, paid a visit to Lisbon on 8 October, at the invitation of the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Portuguese Foreign Minister António Martins da Cruz.

The visit took place in the light of the close relationship of dialogue and co-operation that the Chairmanship-in-Office and the Parliamentary Assembly have been developing throughout this year.

Discussions allowed the reaffirmation of the common objective of enhancing synergies between the Parliamentary Assembly and the other OSCE institutions and organs. In this context, the CiO welcomed the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly to open a liaison office in Vienna and considered that it would foster a closer interaction and exchange of information and modalities for increased co-ordination and collaboration.

The CiO and the President of the OSCEPA agreed that consultations on further co-ordination and co-operation will continue in order to assist the positive development of good working relations between the Parliamentary Assembly and the other institutions of the OSCE.

Foreign Minister Martins da Cruz and Mr George also had the opportunity to discuss various issues on OSCE's agenda, namely the observation of elections. They welcomed the fact that elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina were held in an orderly manner, thus proving the success of the OSCE strategy of gradually handing over the full administration of the election process to the national authorities.

The CiO and the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly also exchanged views on the perspectives for the Oporto Ministerial, namely the Charter on Preventing and Combating Terrorism, the Strategy to Address Threats to Security and Stability in the XXI Century, and the decisions to be adopted on the reform and in the field of the three security dimensions. The President of the OSCEPA informed the CiO that he would address the Ministerial Meeting and that a meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly would take place in Oporto, the day before the Ministerial Meeting.

Belarus was also discussed, underlining the need for a constructive approach by the Minsk authorities with a view to normalising their relationship with the OSCE. This would be an important element to be taken into account by the Parliamentary Assembly when assessing the question of the readmission of Belarussian parliamentary delegation.

Mr George also had meetings with the President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic and with the Portuguese delegation to the OSCEPA.