DUSHANBE, 30.05.2019. (NIAT Khovar) – A joint meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) and the Permanent Council (PC) on the Structured Dialogue took place yesterday in the OSCE headquarters in Vienna. The meeting of the two OSCE regular decision-making bodies was initiated by the Tajik FSC Chairmanship and the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship.

The joint meeting was launched with the opening statements by the FSC Chairperson, the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the OSCE, Ambassador Idibek Kalandar and the Chair of the PC, the Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the OSCE, Ambassador Radomir Bohac, reported the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As a keynote speaker, the Chair of the Informal Working Group on Structured Dialogue, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OSCE, Ambassador Jeroen Boender has presented an interim report on the outcomes of the 8th meeting of the IWG, which was held on May 6-7 in Vienna.

During the general debates the delegations of the OSCE member states have pledged their support for further development of the Structured Dialogue, which, as expected, should contribute to enhancing transparency and predictability in the politico-military sphere.

The delegations have called for continuation of the existing dialogue between the senior military officials with a view to reaching the practical arrangements.

The Structured Dialogue was agreed and launched following the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg in 2016. The Foreign Ministers Declaration entitled “From Lisbon to Hamburg” welcomes launching of the Structured Dialogue on the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area to foster a greater understanding on these issues.

The Structured Dialogue complements the ongoing work of the OSCE on a wide range of issues of cooperation in the politico-military sphere, including the countering the terrorism and extremism, transnational crime, proliferation of nuclear and other materials, etc.