Uzbekistan and OSCE could benefit from increased co-operation, Chairman says

TASHKENT, 13 April 2007 - Uzbekistan could benefit by increasing its co-operation with the OSCE, and the Organization also would profit, the Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said today.

"Uzbekistan is an equal partner to the OSCE's other 55 participating States, and we would welcome an active role by the country," Minister Moratinos said during a visit to Tashkent that included a meeting with President Islam Karimov.

The Chairman-in-Office noted that the Organization and its Spanish Chairmanship hope for greater co-operation with Uzbekistan.

"Through work in the three OSCE dimensions of security - the politico-military, the economic-environmental and the human - we can support Uzbekistan as it furthers its goals of stability and prosperity," the Chairman-in-Office said.

He also met with representatives from civil society, encouraging them to continue their important work.

An OSCE workshop last month, during which Uzbek experts discussed how the country's travel document security can be improved, illustrates the potential of co-operation in the politico-military field.

"We hope to continue working together in this field in order to address other issues such as constructively dealing with threats posed by terrorism," the Minister added.

In the economic and environmental field, the Spanish OSCE Chairmanship has put a priority on land degradation, a topic that is of crucial importance in Uzbekistan. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office discussed the possibility of organizing a meeting in Uzbekistan to follow this May's OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum, which will take place in Prague and focus on land degradation, soil contamination and water management.

In the human dimension, Minister Moratinos said the Organization was ready, for example, to support measures that would promote an active and flourishing civil society.

He also expressed satisfaction with Uzbekistan's support for a regional conference on education in multi-ethnic societies, held in November in Tashkent. The conference was jointly organized by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Ministry for Public Education.

Minister Moratinos also noted that the 2007 Spanish OSCE Chairmanship had made fully engaging Central Asia a priority for the Organization, reflecting the vital role played by Uzbekistan and its neighbours.

"Closer co-operation between Tashkent and the OSCE would be mutually beneficial," the Chairman-in-Office said.

The visit to Tashkent was part of a tour of Central Asia.