OSCE foreign ministers to discuss European security, support for Kyrgyzstan at Almaty informal meeting

ASTANA, 14 July 2010 - The future of European security, support for Kyrgyzstan, engagement with Afghanistan, and possible topics for an OSCE Summit top the agenda of informal meeting of Foreign Ministers in Almaty on 16-17 July.

Quick facts

• Foreign ministers and high-level representatives from the 56 OSCE participating States will attend the informal meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
• The ministers will discuss the future of European security, support for Kyrgyzstan, engagement with Afghanistan, and possible topics for an OSCE Summit.
• The Almaty Informal provides the foreign ministers of the OSCE - the world's biggest regional security organization which includes the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian areas - the opportunity to engage in frank dialogue about the region's most pressing security challenges in an informal setting.
• The Almaty event follows on the first informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers on the Greek island of Corfu in June 2009.
• The "Corfu Process" was launched at that meeting with the aim of restoring confidence and taking forward dialogue on wider European security.
• Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE Chairmanship has proposed holding a summit this year. The last summit took place in Istanbul in 1999.
• A decision on holding a summit and an agenda must be taken by consensus by the 56 participating States.

Quotes

President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev: "As Chair of the OSCE in 2010, Kazakhstan has invited OSCE foreign ministers to Almaty to discuss substantive issues such as transnational threats, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, and questions of tolerance and non-discrimination, that could form the basis for a decision on an OSCE Summit later this year."

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister, Kanat Saudabayev: "Our discussions will build on the Corfu Process launched last year to reinvigorate dialogue on security in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region. The recent events in Kyrgyzstan, where the OSCE under Kazakhstan's chairmanship has played an important role in responding to the political crisis, show how urgent and relevant this is."

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut: "This meeting gives ministers from the OSCE - the world's biggest regional security organization which includes the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian areas - the opportunity to exchange views frankly and openly in order to agree on concrete steps for action on the common threats that we are facing in our region."

File photos of the above are available here.

Multimedia and social media

Live web streaming of the opening session on 17 July at 06:00 (Vienna time)/ 10:00 (Almaty time) and final press conference at 17:30 (Almaty time) / 13:30 (Vienna time)

Live satellite transmission of the open parts of the meeting will be available via Turksat3A. Contact: Raushan Akpenova, TV and radio company Kazakhstan (host broadcaster), mobile: +7 701 710 76 97

Videos of the opening session and press briefings will be posted on the OSCE's YouTube channel

Follow the informal ministerial on the OSCE's Twitter feed or with the hashtag #osceim

Photos and audio will be uploaded to the conference webpage and can be used by the media free of charge, crediting the OSCE.

The OSCE's RSS news feed

Contacts

Virginie Coulloudon, OSCE Spokesperson: +43 664 859 0899
Roman Y. Vassilenko, Chairman, International Information Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan: +7 701 503 04 90

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) works for stability, prosperity and democracy in 56 States through political dialogue about shared values and through practical work that makes a lasting difference.