BRATISLAVA, 15 October 2018 – Wrapping up a visit to Slovakia, which will hold the OSCE Chairmanship in 2019, PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) highlighted the need for the governmental and parliamentary branches of the OSCE to continue working hand-in-hand to maximize the impact of the Organization amidst a challenging security environment.

OSCE PA delegation meeting the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Andrej Danko, Bratislava, 12 October 2018“With peace, stability and security increasingly at risk in the OSCE region, it has become imperative to restore trust among all participating States to overcome different perceptions and build on shared needs,” said Tsereteli. “I thank Slovakia for assuming the burden of steering the OSCE through these challenging times, and for offering its strong political leadership to defend and reinforce multilateralism.”

In Bratislava, the PA President and Secretary General Roberto Montella met on Friday with the Speaker of the National Council, Andrej Danko; the incoming OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak, and State Secretary Lukas Parizek; and the Slovak Delegation to the OSCE PA led by Petr Osusky.

In discussions, President Tsereteli offered the full range of PA tools to promote the OSCE agenda:

“The OSCE PA has a number of useful instruments that can support the work of the Chairmanship, be it through our declarations and statements, the activities of our Special Representatives, or the visits of our committees,” he said. “The PA looks forward to working closely with Slovakia to leverage the assets of parliamentary diplomacy and achieve realistic progress through our concerted efforts.”

In particular, President Tsereteli encouraged the incoming Slovak Chairmanship to develop synergies with the OSCE PA to support its main priorities, which will include the mitigation of human suffering in conflict zones and security sector governance and reform.

He noted that the OSCE PA has made valuable contributions on these topics, including through the “Resolution on Strengthening the OSCE’s Approach to Supporting Security Sector Governance and Reform in Participating and Partner States” adopted during the 2018 Annual Session in Berlin.

Photos from the visit are available on Flickr.