The OSCE Structured Dialogue 2020

In January 2020, Ambassador Luis Cuesta Civis of Spain assumed the Chairmanship of the informal working group of the Structured Dialogue. He succeeds Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands who chaired the informal working group in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The process has established itself as an informal inclusive platform to enhance understanding on the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area. At the same time, the Structured Dialogue has become a confidence- and security- building measure in its own right and has served as an incubator of ideas for other OSCE bodies.

Building on the work of the previous Chairs, the Spanish Chairmanship of the informal working group will promote “Understanding4Security” in the Structured Dialogue process 2020 where understanding is conceived as a process comprised of four key elements: listening, reflecting, sharing and learning.

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The Structured Dialogue provides a valuable opportunity to better understand and make progress on security challenges in the OSCE area by listening, reflecting, sharing experiences and learning about our commonalities.

Ambassador Luis Cuesta Civis Permanent Representative of Spain to the OSCE and 2020 Chair of the informal working group of the Structured Dialogue

The guiding principles of the Structured Dialogue are transparency, collective ownership, inclusiveness and respect for diverging views in the OSCE area.

Three meetings of the informal working group with the reinforced participation of capitals are planned in 2020. Additionally, expert-level meetings for military representatives will be held to foster military-to-military contacts.