President George Opens OSCE PA Trans-Asian Forum in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, 7 June 2003 - "Genuine security in Central Asia cannot be advanced without improvements in the economic conditions in which people are living. International economic organizations can assist in positive development, but it is the governments themselves which must prepare the groundwork for this assistance and investment by rooting out corruption, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, and developing transparent mechanisms for exploiting natural resources and dealing with the revenue that such activities generate", said the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Bruce George, in his opening address to OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, taking place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 7-9 June.

President George noted that the OSCE PA welcomes efforts to devote more attention within the OSCE to security as well as economic and environmental issues in Central Asia, but "they must not come at the expense of the human dimension, which encompasses a wide variety of issues from free and fair elections to combating trafficking in human beings". More than 90 parliamentarians from 25 OSCE participating States are taking part in the two day Forum entitled "The Trans-Asian Dimension of the OSCE: a Vital Security Link".