Annual OSCE Asian conferences

The annual OSCE Asian conferences are part of the Organization’s ongoing dialogue with its Asian Partners for Co-operation. They provide an opportunity for the States to exchange views, ideas and suggestions on the respective theme of the event and create an important stimulus for a discussion on enhancing relations between the OSCE and the Asian Partners for Co-operation.

The idea for such a security dialogue goes back to the earliest days of the Helsinki Process in the early 1970s, which led to several Mediterranean States pioneering a special relationship with the OSCE. A similar special relationship between the Organization and several Asian States was created in the 1990s. The first major event with Asian Partners was a workshop in 2003, hosted by the Republic of Korea and focusing on the applicability of OSCE confidence- and security-building measures in North-East Asia.

The annual conferences are usually attended by high-level representatives from participating and Partner States, regularly joined by representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, as well as academic institutions, to promote the cross-fertilization of ideas and recommendations.

In recent years, OSCE Asian Conferences have explored a wide range of pressing issues, including: 

• new security threats in the digital era;
• co-operation mechanisms to address common security challenges;
• the protection of critical national infrastructure and economic connectivity; and
• the role of youth in peacebuilding.