A closing session of the plenary meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) was held in Vienna under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Tajikistan on July 24.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, the meeting was attended by Mr. Muzaffar Huseinzoda, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan.
In a statement delivered at the session, Huseinzoda summarized the initial outcomes of Tajikistan’s Chairmanship in the FSC – one of the OSCE’s two main regular decision-making bodies – noting that the chairmanship has been a significant milestone and productive experience in Tajikistan’s foreign policy. He emphasized that over this period Tajikistan’s Chairmanship was guided by the established principles of equality, mutual respect and balance, focusing on the continuation of the ongoing work in further improving the control mechanisms in the politico-military field.
Tajikistan Chairmanship Program has reportedly been focused on the traditional issues covered by the FSC, such as border security management, small arms and light weapons (SALW) and stockpiles of conventional ammunition (SCA), humanitarian demining and implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1540 and 1325.
In addition, a particular attention was paid to the regional security issues, such as countering terrorism and extremism in Central Asia, as well as to the issue of synergies and strengthening cooperation between the OSCE and other regional organizations active in Central Asia, such as the SCO, the CSTO, the CICA and the EU, with the focus on their interaction in Central Asia.
Speaking at the session, the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the OSCE Idibek Qalandar noted that 10 plenary meetings, 7 Security Dialogues, one joint FSC-Permanent Council meeting, 10 meetings of “Troika” and 7 meetings of the Working Groups have been held under the Tajik Chairmanship. He also emphasized the successful conduction by Tajikistan of the Eight Annual Discussion on the Implementation of the OSCE Code of Conduct and the Working session III of the 2019 Annual Security Review Conference. Furthermore, two FSC politically binding decisions were adopted during the chairmanship.
At the invitation of the Tajik FSC Chairmanship 19 high-level keynote speakers representing governments, regional organizations, expert and scientific community from Beijing, Bishkek, Brussels, Dublin, Dushanbe, Minsk, Moscow, Nur-Sultan, New York and Washington were invited to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna to engage in the Security Dialogues. For the first time the Tajik Chairmanship managed to involve in the FSC the heads of 6 international and regional organizations at once, providing them a platform for exchange of views and proposals to strengthen cooperation in Central Asia.
The Tajik Chairmanship Program and its particular focus on the Central Asian security issues reportedly received high appreciation from the delegations of the OSCE participating States. The permanent delegations of Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland/EU, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Switzerland, USA and Uzbekistan have made statements expressing their support to the Tajik Chairmanship.
Before closing the plenary meeting the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan Idibek Qalandar handed over the FSC Chairmanship insignias to the next Chairperson of the Forum, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the OSCE Ambassador Ivo Šrámek.
Tajikistan held the chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) from May to August 2019.
The Forum for Security Cooperation is one of the OSCE’s two main regular decision-making bodies. Leaders at the 1992 Helsinki Summit of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe – the OSCE’s predecessor – established the Forum for Security and Co-operation to strengthen the focus on politico-military security by providing for negotiations and consultations on military security and stability in the OCSE area.
The Forum provides a unique platform for the 57 OSCE participating States to discuss topical security challenges on an equal footing. The agenda for the weekly Forum meetings in Vienna always includes security dialogue, allowing participating States to raise and discuss security concerns and challenges. These discussions regularly lead to initiatives and measures to strengthen politico-military security.
The Forum Chairmanship rotates among the OSCE participating States, with each State holding the FSC Chairmanship for four months. A so-called Troika, comprising the former, present and incoming Chairmanships, ensures continuity in the Forum’s work. The Forum approves documents and decisions by consensus. The OSCE Secretariat’s FSC Support Section supports participating States’ efforts to implement FSC commitments, which – like all OSCE commitments – are politically binding.
