2016 OSCE Asian Conference on Strengthening Comprehensive Security opens in Bangkok

BANGKOK, 6 June 2016 – Joining forces in combatting violent extremism, terrorism and human trafficking, building interstate confidence in cyber space and promoting sustainable development and good migration governance is critical to ensuring comprehensive security in the OSCE area and its neighborhood, emphasized participants at the opening of the OSCE Asian Conference in Bangkok today.

“Growing security challenges affect the security of states and have far-reaching implications for the well-being of our people,” said Ambassador Panyrak Poolthup, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Thailand. “By providing the opportunity to share best practices and exchanging expertise, the OSCE’s Asian partnership offers a valuable platform for tackling these challenges in a comprehensive and coherent manner.”

Vuk Zugic, Ambassador of Serbia to the OSCE and Troika member, agreed and added that security in the OSCE region is inseparably linked to that of the Organization’s Asian neighbours. “In the current security environment marked by the prominent return of geopolitics, the OSCE’s Asian partnership provides a suitable platform to develop a shared understanding of common threats and enhance co-operation in addressing them in a comprehensive and coherent manner.”

The OSCE-Asian Partnership is central to the OSCE’s comprehensive security agenda, said Ambassador Norbert Riedl, representing the German Chairmanship of the OSCE. “There is a lot the OSCE can learn from our Asian Partners, with their open economies that are outward-looking and, indeed, connected to the world. But at the same time, the OSCE with its concept of co-operative security may well provide a source of reflection for the South East Asian context and answers to your complex and interrelated challenges.”

Pointing to the nexus between sustainable development and security, the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, said that the OSCE offers some powerful tools to support the realization of the UN’s plan of action for protecting our people, our planet and our prosperity. “Regional organizations such as the OSCE and ASEAN have an important role to play in supporting the implementation not only of the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development but also other UN policies and strategies in the spirit of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.”

The Secretary General of ASEAN, Le Luong Ming, stressed that his organization recognized the organic relationship between stability and prosperity and sustains regional peace by integrating harmonious inter-state relations through political instruments based on equality, the recognition of common problems and the need to maintain and strengthen partnership. “ASEAN shares many similarities with the OSCE and both organizations can work together to identify possible joint responses to new and non-traditional threats that affect the security of our countries and people.”