Good governance crucial to achieving sustainable development, strengthening stability and security in OSCE region, say Forum participants in Prague

PRAGUE, 14 September 2016 – Good governance is crucial to achieving sustainable development, strengthening stability and security within the OSCE region, highlighted participants at the 24^th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum which opened today in Prague.

Opening the Forum, Gernot Erler, Special representative of the German OSCE Chairmanship, said: “We should adhere to the OSCE’s vision of a common space of security, freedom, democracy, but also economic prosperity, as established in the Charter of Paris. To realize this vision we need predictability and trust – between the states, between the state and the private sector, between citizens and their governments – and it is good governance that can create and strengthen this trust.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Lubomír Zaorálek stressed that acting at the global level is necessary but not sufficient. “A lot can and must be done at regional levels. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is aimed at balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development and this Forum could set us on the right path towards that goal. Only by doing so will the OSCE be able to better understand and deal with threats in a horizontal manner.”

The Czech Republic will take over the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Presidency in July 2017, which will focus on good governance.

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said that good governance requires governments to be transparent and accountable towards their citizens. “Adopting comprehensive and long-term development strategies and effective economic policies, developing transparent budget and procurement processes, promoting international trade also through harmonized and simplified customs regulations in which business can thrive and investor confidence can grow, is the path we all must walk.”

The Forum process is also exploring how the OSCE could strengthen public-private partnerships to help combat corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing to enhance security and economic stability throughout the OSCE region.

Furthermore, the Forum process is examining ways to improve good governance in labour migration. In this context, Zannier underlined that migration has become a game-changer in European and international politics. “Migration does not need to be a ‘risk’; it can offer opportunities, provided that states agree to step up their efforts to introduce more comprehensive migration governance and to enhance cohesion between labour migration management and economic policies.”

Participants also highlighted that good environmental governance not only contributes to a sound investment climate, but also helps to address the concerns and interests of all stakeholders, which can help prevent tensions and conflicts.