Press Release

Nr.: 146/98 rev.
30 November 1998

OSCE ministerial council meeting in Oslo 2-3 December

Norway will be hosting the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting on 2-3 December. The meeting will take place at the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel in Oslo. This will be the largest international ministerial meeting that has ever been held in Norway. In addition to foreign ministers from most of the 54 OSCE member states in Europe, North America and Central Asia, participants include delegates from the OSCE partner countries around the Mediterranean: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia as well as the

OSCE partner countries in East Asia: Japan and the Republic of Korea. Leaders of several OSCE missions will be present, among them the head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, Ambassador William Walker. Altogether, we expect that approximately 1000 people will participate in the meeting.

His Majesty King Harald V will be present at the opening of the meeting at 9.00 on 2 December. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik will hold the opening address. The Polish foreign minister, Bronislaw Geremek, the current Chairman of the OSCE, will then chair the meeting.

The foreign ministers will discuss the areas of conflict that the OSCE is currently engaged in. The situation in Kosovo and in the Balkan aerea will be central issues for discussion. The foreign ministers will also consider the status of the OSCE negotiations on a security charter. During its chairmanship, Norway will be responsible for leading the further negotiations on this charter, which aims to strengthen the capability of the OSCE in conflict prevention and conflict settlements. It also aims at preparing the ground for flexible cooperation between the OSCE and other organisations, like NATO, the United Nations and the Council of Europe. The meeting will also follow up the work of the OSCE on promoting democracy, human rights and respect for the rights of national minorities.

The Oslo meeting will mark the transition to Norway's assumption of the chairmanship of the OSCE in 1999.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened a home page on the Internet with information about the OSCE and Norway's chairmanship. It includes information about the Ministerial Council Meeting, which will be continuously updated during the meeting. The address is: http://www.ud.dep.no/

Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 November 1998

Comment to the editor: Tunisia has been included in the list of OSCE partner countries around the Mediterranean. The Internet home page address has also been corrected.