On September 30, 2021, in the city of Vienna, during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Ruslan Kazakbaev, held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Helga Maria Schmid.

The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss topical issues of cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the OSCE, the international security agenda, the fight against new challenges and threats, the impact of events in Afghanistan on security in Central Asia, as well as support for ethnic Kyrgyz living abroad in OSCE participating States.

The head of the Foreign Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic informed about the parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28, 2021 in Kyrgyzstan and invited the mission of international observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to take part in observing the preparation and course of the voting.

R.Kazakbaev also proposed to hold a high-level joint conference next year with the participation of the OSCE Secretary General, the ODIHR Director, the OSCE High Commissioner on Minority Affairs, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of Expression and representatives of the OSCE Chairmanship Troika (Sweden, Poland, North Macedonia), timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of joining the OSCE and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Helsinki Final Act. Within the framework of the international conference, it was proposed to discuss the results and plans for the development of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the OSCE in all three dimensions of comprehensive security.

Minister R. Kazakbaev informed about the successful work of the Government on the repatriation of 79 children of Kyrgyz citizens from Iraq and expressed a request for support from the OSCE in carrying out further work on repatriation and reintegration.

The Minister also spoke in favor of the further expansion of projects within the framework of the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek.

In turn, H.Schmid noted the significant achievements of Kyrgyzstan in democratizing society and carrying out political reforms and confirmed the OSCE's readiness to send an international observer mission to Kyrgyzstan to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Helga Schmid confirmed the OSCE's interest in developing bilateral and regional cooperation with Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, in terms of ensuring security, taking into account the latest military-political changes in Afghanistan. She also expressed gratitude to Kyrgyzstan for the work of Kyrgyz specialists in the OSCE field missions.

Secretary General H.Schmid welcomed Kyrgyzstan's initiative to offer 500 visas for Afghan youth to study at Kyrgyz higher education institutions.

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