ASTANA, 30 November 2010 — On the eve of the seventh OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan, eleven years after the last OSCE Summit in Istanbul, the Bureau of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met today in Astana.
After this meeting with the senior leadership of the Assembly, I would like to welcome once again, on behalf of the OSCE PA, that the 2010 OSCE Chairmanship of Kazakhstan brought new dynamics and confidence to the Organization. Kazakhstan’s presidency provided effective leadership to the OSCE in its endeavor to play the role of an honest broker building bridges between East and West. Kazakhstan has also contributed to promoting parliamentary dialogue within the OSCE.
The Astana Summit offers a unique opportunity to highlight the importance of Central Asia to the OSCE’s collective security. In this milestone year that marks the 35th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act and the 20th anniversary of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the magnitude of old and new challenges and threats facing member states and their citizens demands direct political engagement at the highest level. This is why the OSCE Summit in Astana is more than timely.
On behalf of the OSCE PA Bureau, I call on the Heads of State or Government of the participating States of the OSCE to reconfirm their commitments by adopting an effective Declaration, and to send a strong signal for future action to increase confidence among participating States and to develop the OSCE further, strengthening its efficiency and its parliamentary dimension. By this the Astana Summit will make a significant contribution to security and co-operation in Europe and Eurasia across all three of the OSCE’s dimensions.
