Promoting economic connectivity in the OSCE area

Several foreign ministers, high-level government representatives and experts gathered for a discussion on promoting economic connectivity in the OSCE area on 6 December 2018 during the 25th OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan.

Elena Rovenskaya addressed the audience with presentation on IIASA research on economic connectivity in Greater Eurasia. She was joined on the panel by Lukas Parizek, Special Representative for the OSCE Chairmanship and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia; Vuk Zugic, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities; Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan; Guglielmo Picchi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy; Kairat Sarybay, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the OSCE; and Stefan Wolff from the University of Birmingham.

During discussions, participants agreed that in view of the growing global interdependence in the digital era the need for strengthening economic co-operation and a comprehensive approach to promoting international and regional security, stability and prosperity is increasingly urgent. They stressed the continued relevance for participating States of the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Strengthening Good Governance and Promoting Connectivity taken in Hamburg in 2016.

The event was organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and the Republic of Kazakhstan in its capacity as Chair of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Committee.