OSCE countries and Mediterranean partners discuss regional security

AMMAN, 27 October 2008 - How the OSCE's approach to security and new challenges can be applied outside the Organization's region is the focus of discussions among representatives from the OSCE's participating States and its Mediterranean partner countries at a two-day conference that began today.

The 2008 Mediterranean Conference - upgraded for the first time from a seminar to reflect the aim of adding more weight to the discussions - is being hosted by the Jordanian government.

"Jordan attaches high importance to its partnership with the OSCE," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Salaheddin Al-Bashir, who noted with approval the wide-ranging agenda for the conference.

"Further co-operation in countering terrorism, linkages between the environment and security in the Mediterranean region, promoting dialogue and understanding, assessing environmental impacts of economic activities, and the role of civil society in supporting reforms are all issues that really affect our daily lives in this part of the world," the Minister said.

The OSCE Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, said OSCE states and the Mediterranean Partners faced an increasingly complex array of threats and risks from both outside and inside their borders. These included terrorism, human trafficking, extremism, cultural rifts, uncontrolled migration and environmental degradation. He said the conference aimed to provide input and suggestions to help find the right responses to these challenges.

Ambassador Antti Turunen of Finland, which holds the 2008 OSCE Chairmanship, said he was delighted so many non-governmental organizations had taken part in the side event that preceded the Mediterranean Conference.

"True, as government officials we don't always like to hear what they have to say. But these voices matter precisely because they keep us on our toes and because they place high expectations on our work," he said. "As importantly, they provide outstanding support and vital food for thought - ideas and new perspectives."

Turunen noted the Palestinian National Authority's application to become a Mediterranean Partner of the OSCE. He said the Finnish Chairmanship had started informal consultations with delegations of the OSCE participating States and the Mediterranean Partners, and Finland expected to be able to provide a response in the run-up to the Helsinki Ministerial Council on 4 and 5 December.

Ambassdor Nikolaos Kalantzianos, Head of the Task Force of the incoming Greek Chairmanship, said: "The Mediterranean Sea is the birthplace of our civilizations. It is the sea that has always nourished us and it is the sea that facilitated our communication and commerce. Thus, the Mediterranean Sea should not be viewed as a natural barrier that separates us, but, on the contrary, it is the bridge that brings us together and that unites us. Greece, as a Mediterranean country, fully shares the vision of the Helsinki forefathers, that security in Europe is closely interlinked with security in neighbouring regions in the wider Mediterranean area."