Monaco attends the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council

©DR

H.E. Mr Lorenzo RAVANO, Ambassador and Monaco’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), took part in the 30th Ministerial Council held in Skopje (North Macedonia) from 30 November to 1 December 2023.

The Ambassador was accompanied by Mr Jean-Laurent IMBERT, Deputy Permanent Representative.

The meeting, which was attended by around forty Foreign Ministers from the OSCE’s 57 member states, took place in a tense international climate with the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Balkans, and tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and more recently the Middle East.

In his speech, the Ambassador reiterated the values promoted by the Principality, respect for international law, and above all the crucial role of the OSCE, which must be central to peace efforts in the current context of crises and conflicts.

The two-day event highlighted deep divisions on the issues of the OSCE’s governance between Russia and Belarus on the one hand, and the rest of the participating States on the other. However, after extensive negotiations, a last-minute consensus finally emerged with an agreement that Malta will chair the Organization in 2024, while senior officials of the OSCE’s four executive bodies have been re-appointed for a limited nine-month term.

This outcome will ensure the Organization is able to continue its work in 2024, ahead of commemorations in 2025 marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act that founded the OSCE.