OSCE PA Special Representative for Central Asia visits Kazakhstan: development of civil society, regional co-operation among topics discussed

COPENHAGEN, 21 February 2014 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative for Central Asia Thierry Mariani (France) is in Kazakhstan this week for discussions with parliamentarians and government officials on a broad range of national and regional issues.

The Special Representative met Senate Chairman and Head of Kazakhstan’s Delegation to the OSCE PA Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on 20 February. He met with the Vice-Speaker of the Mazhilis (the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament) as well as MPs from a range of committees in both houses on 21 February. The Special Representative also held meetings with the First Deputy Prosecutor General, officials in the Presidential Administration and the Foreign Ministry and members of the diplomatic community in Astana.

"Kazakhstan is an invaluable partner to the OSCE. During my visit, I have particularly focused on the role and development of civil society, as well as recent legislative reforms aimed at reducing incarceration rates. We also discussed broader issues of regional co-operation, water management, transnational crime and other cross-border threats to human security, Interpol reform, and OSCE priorities in different dimensions,” Mariani said.

In his meetings, the Special Representative also encouraged Kazakhstan to continue active engagement with the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly. He also expressed support for the work of the OSCE Centre in Astana, which briefed him during his visit.

Mariani will remain in Kazakhstan through the weekend to focus on French-Kazakh bilateral issues before traveling to Moscow. There, he will discuss regional issues concerning Central Asia with officials from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as well as with experts from the Carnegie Moscow Center.