OSCE Troika membership official

ASTANA. January 21. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan has joined the OSCE Troika, the Kazakh Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said.The troika is made up of the current, previous and future chairmen of the organisation. This year`s troika includes Greece (the current chair), Finland (that chaired the organization in 2008) and Kazakhstan (which will chair the organization in 2010).

The troika is an important instrument of cooperation and medium-term planning. It provides continuity of the OSCE policy and gives support to the prospective chair,қ the mission said. In addition, Kazakhstan has become the chair of the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group. The format implies voluntary fulfillment of OSCE principles and commitments by Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, alongside 56 OSCE member countries. ?While chairing this group, Kazakhstan intends to promote closer relations between Mediterranean countries and the OSCE and to develop dialogue and cooperation in three major security dimensions - humanitarian, economic and environmental, and military-political,қ the mission said.Kazakhstan plans to invite representatives of the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group to the third congress of leaders of world and traditional religions in Astana this year. The OSCE is well placed to address Europe`s changing geopolitical challenges in a time marked by crises, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, said on January 15, in her first address to the Organization`s 56 participating States reported the OSCE site. She also reiterated the 2009 Greek OSCE Chairmanship`s commitment to ensuring the continuation of the OSCE`s field presence in Georgia. ?Greece assumes the OSCE Chairmanship at a time when the quest for security in our region has become ever more complex,қ Bakoyannis told the OSCE Permanent Council. ?In these circumstances, I believe the OSCE remains a vital point of reference within the UN framework. The OSCE is the only regional forum that encompasses the wider Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions. It is also rooted in a unique, ambitious concept of security based upon shared values, agreed commitments and the fundamental dignity of the individual.қ She called the crisis in Georgia ?both a challenge and an opportunityқ. ?This crisis has shaken us out of our complacency, and reminded us that our job is not done. It therefore provides us with the opportunity to look afresh at the mechanisms we have created, to re-dedicate ourselves to the full implementation of our agreed commitments, and to consider new ways to build indivisible security,қ she said. Pledging the Chairmanship`s commitment to acting as an honest broker, Bakoyannis said that Greece was ready to continue discussions on the future of European security. Bakoyannis outlined the Chairmanship`s priorities for the year, based on the cornerstones of ?synergy, symmetry and strategyқ, including the peaceful resolution of the region`s protracted conflicts and enhancing the legal status of the OSCE. Priorities in the politico-military dimension of the OSCE`s work include promoting implementation of OSCE commitments on counter-terrorism as well as border security and policing, including enhancing engagement with Afghanistan, an OSCE partner country, Kazinform cites New Europe.