Georgian Vice Prime Minister presents engagement strategy to OSCE Permanent Council, affirms Georgia's support for OSCE presence on the ground

VIENNA, 19 March 2010 - Georgian Vice Prime Minister Temur Yakobashvili addressed a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council today to present Georgia's strategy for engagement through co-operation following the conflict in August 2008.

Yakobashvili, who also serves as the State Minister for Reintegration of Georgia, said that the strategy was the result of wide consultations with local as well as international experts and stakeholders, and aimed to be a roadmap for engagement and co-operation, addressing issues including healthcare, education, trade, environment and infrastructure.

"Because all these areas are of a humanitarian nature we call this a 'humano-centric' strategy, focusing on the needs of people, not politicians," he said. "While developing the strategy we tried to take into account the practical needs of the population and those who were affected by the war."

Yakobashvili said the Georgian government was working on an action plan for the strategy, entitled "State Strategy on Occupied Territories: Engagement through Co-operation", and aimed to organize a conference with all stakeholders to discuss its implementation.

"The implementation conference is a concrete forum where the OSCE can contribute greatly," he said in his report submitted to the Permanent Council.

"The OSCE has unique instruments and capabilities aimed at promoting confidence-building activities on the ground. We have seen and experienced this while the OSCE Mission to Georgia was working on the ground, promoting interaction between the war-torn societies and households."

He affirmed Georgia's support for the Geneva Discussions co-chaired by the OSCE, European Union and United Nations, and said the government was committed to restoring an OSCE presence on the ground. The OSCE Mission to Georgia closed in June 2009.

"It is the intention of the Government of Georgia to bring the OSCE back to Georgia," he said.

The next round of the Geneva Discussions - which have taken place in two parallel working groups addressing security and stability in the region and humanitarian questions - will be held on 30 March.