Delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dilshod Akhatov attended the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dilshod Akhatov attended the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, in Bratislava, Slovakia, Uzbekistan MFA reports.

According to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Austria and the Permanent Mission of the country to the OSCE, delegations from 57 participating states, 11 partner countries, the Secretary General and heads of OSCE bodies, representatives of other regional organizations attended the Ministerial Council convened by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák.

At the meeting, heads of foreign affairs agencies of the participating states discussed a wide range of issues on the agenda, in particular, ensuring security and human rights in the OSCE area, as well as promising areas of interaction within the organization.

Head of Uzbekistan delegation provided information on the regional policy of Uzbekistan in the context of strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries, in particular, on the results of the second Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Leaders, the upcoming December 22 parliamentary elections, as well as measures taken by the country to improve the environmental situation and ensure the socio-economic development of the Aral Sea region during the implementation of the initiative on creating a Multi-Partner Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region.

Uzbekistan delegation held meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Idrees Zaman, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland Simon Coveney, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portuguese Republic Teresa Ribeiro and State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Pascale Baeriswyl, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly George Tsereteli and the EU Special Representative for Central Asia at European External Action Service Peter Burian.

Talks were also held with Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok, Norway – Marie Søreide and Luxembourg – Jean Asselborn.

The next meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council will be held in 2020 in Albania, which will chair the organization from January 1.