OSCE Troika meets with Mediterranean Partners

Joe Costello, Minister of State from the Irish Foreign Ministry, opened a Troika meeting with the OSCE Mediterranean Partner countries held on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin on 7 December 2012.

Representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia met with the Troika of the current, preceding and future Chairmanships, including the 2011 Chairmanship of Lithuania, the current Irish Chair, the 2013 Chairmanship of Ukraine and the 2014 Chairmanship of Switzerland. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Deputy Secretary General Gustavo Pallares and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier also took part.

“I believe that this year has given us positive examples of open dialogue and result-oriented co-operation between the OSCE and the Mediterranean Partners,” said Costello. “This meeting has provided an important opportunity to discuss how to take our partnership forward. The views of our Mediterranean Partners in this respect are particularly important, and will certainly guide us in our joint work next year.”