The OSCE Security Committee and the Asian Partners for Co-operation Group (APCG) held a joint meeting today in Vienna under the theme "Conflict Prevention and Preventive Diplomacy: A Comparative Regional Dialogue". The meeting offered an opportunity to share regional experiences and explore opportunities to further strengthen dialogue and co-operation across both regions, particularly relevant in today's volatile security environment. It was co-chaired by the United Kingdom, in its capacity as Chair of the OSCE Security Committee, and Finland, as Chair of the APCG, and co-organized with Australia.
The meeting provided a first opportunity for an even broader and inclusive discussion among the two regions, with Qatar recently joining the five APCG members (Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand), following a consensus Ministerial Council decision by all 57 OSCE participating States.
In his keynote video address, OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu highlighted that "at a time of intense geopolitical polarization, placing huge strain on multilateralism and international security and stability, structured political dialogue between regions is a diplomatic necessity."
"The OSCE continues to have a unique role to play in conflict and crisis situations through its conflict-cycle toolbox, but even the best tools alone are not enough, if there is a lack of political will and trust among states. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is the starkest possible reminder of this. No region or organization can address the challenges of conflict prevention alone, making cooperation and the exchange of experiences across regions important," said Ambassador Outi Hyvärinen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the OSCE and Chair of the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group.
"Today's exchange has underlined that preventive diplomacy is not one instrument or one moment. It requires credible early warning, open communication, engagement and the political will to act before positions harden and risks escalate. It has also shown the value of comparing regional experience and learning lessons between regions. I hope this can be the basis for continued, practical exchange between the OSCE and ASEAN on conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy," said James Ford, Chargé d'affaires, United Kingdom Delegation to the OSCE on behalf of the Security Committee.
Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Executive Director of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR), stressed that "in this current global fragmentation, the region needs to develop regional crisis management capacity and to strengthen its resilience against sudden conflicts and geopolitical surprise by developing an early warning mechanism and multi stakeholder preventive diplomacy ecosystem."
Contributions from the co-organizers highlighted the importance of sustained diplomatic engagement, political will, trust, confidence-building and early warning in preventing tensions from escalating into conflict.
