In Washington, high-level OSCE PA representatives laud role of the OSCE in South East Europe

WASHINGTON, 8 February 2018 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli and Secretary General Roberto Montella are in Washington this week, where they participated in a forum on geopolitics in South East Europe on Tuesday. The event at the U.S. Senate featured remarks from prime ministers and members of parliament, who addressed challenges facing the region of South East Europe, as well as members of the U.S. Congress.

Tsereteli spoke about the importance of sustained U.S. engagement in the region, while Montella focused his remarks on the valuable work being done by OSCE missions there. The OSCE has been carefully following the security developments in South East Europe for nearly three decades, and currently has six field operations there, Montella pointed out.

The PA President noted that the region is facing a number of serious security challenges, including terrorism, radicalization, organized crime and corruption. The recent refugee and migrant crisis has posed additional challenges, he said.

Following the Senate event, Tsereteli and Montella continued their visit to Washington with a series of meetings with members of the U.S. Delegation to the OSCE PA, representatives from the National Security Council, International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, U.S. Helsinki Commission and the State Department.

The visit continues through Friday.