OSCE at modern stage: ?Synergy, strategy and symmetry?

VIENNA. January 19. KAZINFORM First session of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was held in Vienna last Thursday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Dora Bakoyannis who had assumed the office of the current Chairman of the OSCE, delivered a speech at the session. The Minister presented priorities for the period of chairmanship of her country in the Organization. It was highlighted that in modern conditions the OSCE remained the only regional forum covering the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian continents, having a unique, ambitious concept of security based on common values, coordinated commitments and fundamental dignity of person. ?Today the OSCE is able to respond to the changing geopolitical challenges in Europe?, she said. The Minister outlined priorities of Greece?s chairmanship for 2009 which include peaceful settlement of ?frozen? conflicts and improvement of the legal status of the OSCE. Three key ideas of the Greek Chairmanship were underlined. These are the ?three S? ? three guides of the chairmanship ? ?Synergy, symmetry and strategy?. This means: -search for synergy among all member states for promoting co-operative, indivisible and cross-dimensional security. -development of a strategy to design more effective ways to achieve common goals of guaranteeing stability, security and cooperation in the OSCE area. - provision of symmetry of efforts in dealing with new ?asymmetric threats? and old challenges. In military-political dimension the OSCE activity will be focused on realization of the OSCE commitments on struggle against terrorism, border security and policing and development of cooperation with Afghanistan, partner country of the OSCE. In economic-ecological dimension the OSCE priorities will be migration and solution of security aspects of the ecological challenges. The Greek chairmanship will continue the idea of ?greening the OSCE? that means promotion of ecological stability within the Organization. In respect of human dimension, the Greek Chairmanship will seek to strengthen the Rule of Law in the regions and gender equality, ensuring tolerance and non-discrimination of people. D. Bakoyannis also stressed that the OSCE should take part in minimization of negative consequences of the world crisis for stabilization and security in the region. Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the OSCE Kairat Abdrakhmanov spoke in support of the priorities of the Greek chairmanship. He stressed Kazakhstan would support Greece in its efforts on solution of the ?frozen? conflicts and other initiatives targeted on strengthening confidence-building measures in the OSCE region. Being a member of the OSCE Troika Kazakhstan would bend every effort on assistance in realization of the principles of the Greek chairmanship in all three dimensions of security, he said. On the eve of the session, Kazakhstan Ambassador Vyacheslav Gizzatov was appointed personal representative of the current OSCE Chairman on fighting with intolerance and discrimination regarding the Muslims. He will render expert help to the Chairman in studying the situation on observance of the rights of Muslim minority in non-Islamic countries and will assist in coordination of efforts of the member countries and the OSCE institutes on fulfillment of the commitments in struggle against discrimination and ensuring tolerance, press service of Kazakhstan representation in the OSCE informs.