OSCE Chair-in-Office Ian Borg Concludes Central Asia Visit in Kyrgyzstan

The OSCE is a strong platform to tackle transnational threats that require regional cooperation and result-oriented, needs-based approaches, such as climate change.

During an official visit to Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade and Chair-in-Office of the OSCE Ian Borg highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in Central Asia and in other regions of the OSCE area. This one-day visit to the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek concluded the 2024 OSCE Chairpersonship’s visit to Central Asia, which also included stops in Astana, Kazakhstan, and Dushanbe, Tajikistan earlier this week.

Minister Borg met President Sadyr Zhaparov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheenbek Kulubaev, and the Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament) Nurlanbek Shakiev. He also held talks with General-Major Ularbek Sharsheev, Director of the Border Service of Kyrgyzstan, and with representatives of civil society organisations.

In an address to the media, Minister Borg said that the OSCE values its ongoing engagement with Kyrgyzstan on various important issues, including economic development, digitalisation, transnational threats, gender equality, and climate change’s impact on security.

The OSCE Chair-in-Office commended Kyrgyzstan’s plan to increase climate resilience for communities living in the country’s mountainous areas and affirmed that the OSCE is determined to continue supporting this initiative.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, with implications for sustainable development, prosperity, security, and stability in the OSCE region and beyond. We must intensify our efforts to strengthen the resilience of our communities to natural disasters. This entails risk reduction, early warning, and improved crisis management capacities throughout the OSCE area, including Central Asia,” Minister Borg said.

In Kyrgyzstan, Minister Borg also visited the acclaimed OSCE Academy, which has been providing high-quality university-level education to many alumni from Central Asia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and beyond, for more than two decades.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Over these years, this mission implemented hundreds of projects to enhance security across the region.

“The Organization is committed to continuing its strong support to Kyrgyzstan in all three dimensions of security, and to build a safer future for all people,” Minister Borg concluded.

Malta began its 12-month Chairpersonship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in January, under the theme “Strengthening Resilience, Enhancing Security,” after it was unanimously elected to head this organisation for the first time in its history, in November 2023.