New OSCE Head of Mission and CiO Personal Representative to facilitate solution in Moldova

THE HAGUE, 21 January 2003 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, has appointed Ambassador William H. Hill of the United States as Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

For Ambassador Hill, a distinguished diplomat and academic, as well as an expert in the region, this is his second assignment to Moldova, having previously served there from June 1999 to November 2001. His new appointment will take effect from 23 January.

The Mission to Moldova was established in February 1993 and started work in Chisinau in April of the same year. A branch office was opened in Tiraspol in February 1995.

The objectives of the Mission include facilitating the achievement of a lasting political settlement in the country and encouraging the implementation of an agreement on the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

It is also within the context of negotiating a political solution to the conflict that the OSCE Chairman-in-Office has also extended the mandate of Adriaan Jacobovits as his Personal Representative. Mr. Jacobovits is a former Dutch diplomat with extensive experience in international organizations and multilateral negotiations.