DUSHANBE, October 16, 2013, Asia-Plus – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Kozhara arrived in Dushanbe late Tuesday (October 15) on a working visit.
While in Dushanbe, Mr. Kozhara is expected to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi and Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) Shukurjon Zuhurov.
The visit is a part of Kozhara’s tour of Central Asia.
According to the Ukrainian MFA, Uzbekistan was the first leg of Kozhara’s tour of Central Asia. He reportedly visited Uzbekistan on October 11-13. On October 14, he visited Kazakhstan and on October 15, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office visited Kyrgyzstan. On October 17, Leonid Kozhara will leave Tajikistan for Turkmenistan.
Expansion of political, humanitarian and economic cooperation between the OSCE and Central Asia’s nations is a major topic of Kozhara’s discussions with Central Asian high-ranking officials.
While in Tashkent, Leonid Kozhara on October 11 welcomed a decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for its contribution to reducing and eliminating the chemical weapons throughout the world, press release issued by OSCE said.
“Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2013 to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an acknowledgement of its role in ridding the world of one of the weapons of mass destruction and its contribution to assuring peace and stability in the world,” Leonid Kozhara said.
