President Halonen in the OSCE Summit

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton meet in Astana. Lehtikuva / AFP Photo / Vyacheslav Oseledko

According to President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, the OSCE can play a key role in building a more stable and secure environment for us all, if we comply with our commitments and give the organization the right tools. “A central objective must be to develop our area in a manner that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable”, President said at the OSCE Summit.

The President and Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb participated in the OSCE Summit to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on 1–2 December.

President Halonen reminded that The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe was first held in Helsinki in 1975. So called “Spirit of Helsinki” paved the way for a peaceful and democratic Europe without dividing lines. “Now it is up to us to reach consensus that will revitalize and strengthen the OSCE to fulfill the spirit of Astana”, the President said.

She emphasized that the OSCE should step up its work in responding to security challenges, and it has to intensify efforts to solve all conflicts in our OSCE area.

President Nursultan Nazarbajev of Kazakhstan welcomes President Tarja Halonen to the Summit. Lehtikuva/Reuters/Francois Lenoir

“Strengthening the implementation of human rights commitments is of crucial importance in finding new dynamics to the human dimension of the OSCE. In this work, NGOs and the civil society play a vital role”, president Halonen said. Also, the cooperation between the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union is “of utmost importance”.

At the Summit, President Halonen had also bilateral meetings.

The topics of the Summit included OSCE objectives and future focus areas in the organisation’s three operational dimensions: the politico-military, the economic-environmental and the human. Featured themes included arms control, protracted conflicts and security cooperation.

The previous OSCE Summit was held in Istanbul in 1999.

• Speech by President Halonen at the OSCE Summit in Astan
• OSCE Summit 2010 website