OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu concluded an official visit to Kazakhstan today, reaffirming the Organization's strong commitment to supporting the country's priorities and strengthening regional co-operation across Central Asia.
The Secretary General attended the Regional Ecological Summit convened by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. On the sidelines of the Summit, Secretary General Sinirlioğlu hosted the high-level meeting "Regional Cooperation on Climate Resilience in Central Asia" with Central Asian Ministers and Heads of Environmental State Institutions, where he discussed options for strengthening regional co-operation on climate resilience.
During his visit to Astana, the Secretary General met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, with Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev as well as Prosecutor General Berik Assylov.
Discussions focused on the OSCE's long-standing partnership with Kazakhstan, its contribution to the Organization, and common approaches to shared environmental issues in the region, as well as joint security challenges facing the OSCE region across the politico-military, economic and environmental, and human rights related pillars of security.
"This visit reflects a partnership that stretches back to 1992, when Kazakhstan joined the OSCE as a participating State. Over more than three decades we have built a partnership that is broad, deep, and grounded in shared priorities," said the Secretary General. "Conversations throughout my visit have underlined the importance of sustained regional co-operation as the only effective response to common challenges, such as the ecological priorities we discussed during the Regional Ecological Summit. The OSCE stands ready to support this work."
The Secretary General also met with civil society representatives and visited the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, where he met with staff and commended the team for their commitment and work in advancing the Organization's co-operation with the host country and contributing effectively to all three pillars of security.
