OSCE Chair commended Tajikistan on 25 years of strong and constructive partnership

BRATISLAVA, 23 May 2019 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, congratulated Tajikistan on assuming the four-month Chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation, concluding his visit of three Central Asian countries in Tajikistan on 22 May.

In his meetings with the leadership of Tajikistan, including President Emomali Rahmon, Deputy Foreign Minister Muzaffar Husainzoda and Speaker of the Upper House of the Parliament Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, the OSCE Chair thanked Tajikistan for its strong and constructive support of the activities of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe for already 25 years, as well as for hosting one of the OSCE flagship initiatives, the Border Management Staff College.

He also expressed the Organization’s commitment to continuing its support of Tajikistan’s engagement with Afghanistan.

When speaking about activities on the ground, Chairperson Lajčák particularly mentioned the OSCE Programme Office’s work on clearing almost four million square meters of mine-contaminated land, contributing to border management and security, promoting gender equality through gender-sensitive police units, or fostering entrepreneurship with its Start-Up programme.

“Tajikistan and the OSCE have come a long way together,” the OSCE Chair said. “Through all of those initiatives, places of insecurity and tension have become hubs of economic opportunity,” he added.

Seeing first-hand the work of the OSCE’s Border Management Staff College, Minister Lajčák stressed that “it embodies the spirit of OSCE co-operation in the region for already ten years. More than 3,300 representatives from 59 countries have learned crucial skills to enhance border management and security. And this includes classes for women border officials – a big step in a traditionally male-dominated field.”

While in Tajikistan, the OSCE Chair also sat down with civil society actors to learn more about their activities and projects in the country. He met with a group of young people whom he encouraged to advocate for multilateralism and make their voices heard as the bridge-builders, peacebuilders and innovators of tomorrow.

The Chair underlined that “the OSCE and the Slovak Chairmanship are here to support Tajikistan in achieving its national priorities, furthering its reform efforts and consolidating stability in the region.”