Bern, Press releases, 22.11.2014

"Central Asia plays an important role as a bridge between Asia and Europe", said Didier Burkhalter, the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, at the end of a four-day visit from Wednesday to Saturday that took him to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Didier Burkhalter and with the Kyrgyz President, Almazbek Atambayev in a presse conference.
Didier Burkhalter in a presse conference with the Kyrgyz President, Almazbek Atambayev. (22 November 2014) FDFA

Mr Burkhalter's meetings with the countries’ leaders focused on the role and activities of the OSCE in Central Asia and their important contribution to security in the region. Other major topics were the perception of the Ukrainian crisis in the region and the OSCE's efforts to seek solutions to prevent an escalation of the conflict. The discussions also highlighted the quality and usefulness of the work of the organisation, which is operating in difficult conditions.

Furthermore, Mr Burkhalter spoke with his interlocutors about cooperation between the authorities of the countries concerned and the OSCE on a number of issues including border control, good governance, long-term management of energy and water resources and shared efforts to combat the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters.

The Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE said he was convinced that there was a real potential to strengthen the implementation of the organisation's principles in the politico-military, economic and environmental and human dimensions. "We are willing to broaden our engagement and offer our expertise", Mr Burkhalter said.

The visit also gave Mr Burkhalter the opportunity for fruitful discussions with civil society in several countries.

Finally, the trip also helped strengthen bilateral ties between the countries visited and Switzerland, which works closely with them within the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank / International Monetary Fund). The long-standing Swiss engagement in the field of development cooperation in the region was also mentioned.


Further information:

Dossier
Switzerland's OSCE Chairmanship
The OSCE on Twitter


Address for enquiries:

Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: +41 58 462 31 53
Fax: +41 58 464 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch


Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Last update 19.07.2023

  • FDFA Communication answers media queries Mondays to Fridays during office hours and operates a weekend emergency on-call service.

Contact

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West
3003 Bern

Phone (for journalists only):
+41 58 460 55 55

Phone (for all other requests):
+41 58 462 31 53

Start of page