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Nur-Sultan, 19 February, 2021 – The international conference “OSCE Astana Summit 2010: Historical Significance and Relevance” was held in an online format in Nur-Sultan today. The event was organised by the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan.
As is known, in 2010 Kazakhstan became the first post-Soviet state, the first representative of Central Asia and the first predominantly Muslim country, which was entrusted with chairing the European structure. The initiator and ideologist of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE was the First President of Kazakhstan – Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev.
A welcome message to the participants of the event on behalf of Nursultan Nazarbayev was presented by Adil Tursunov, advisor to the First President and Head of the Department of Information and Analytical Support of the Office of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation.
“I welcome the participants of the international conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the OSCE summit held in Astana in December 2010. This summit became one of the most striking events in the history of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE, a large and significant transcontinental organisation uniting 57 European states, Central Asia and North America. The country of the Great Steppe was the first in the post-Soviet space to be honoured to lead the OSCE. Personally promoting the application for this post, I proceeded from the fact that, firstly, thanks to its responsible and peaceful policy in the international arena, our country is quite capable of consolidating the “common family” to conduct a serious analysis of the role of the organisation and shape its future.
I am confident that the legacy of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship and the OSCE Astana Summit is of enduring relevance in the formation of a just and lasting peace, as well as strategic stability and security in the space of the “four oceans” – from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic to the Indian”, Nursultan Nazarbayev said in his message.
Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, noted in his speech the main priorities of interaction between Kazakhstan and the OSCE to promote dialogue and peace, and recalled that Kazakhstan took over the chairmanship of the CICA in 2020.
“We are ready to promote the establishment of practical cooperation between the OSCE and the CICA, since these two platforms have set identical goals and rely on similar approaches to solving the key problems of Eurasia. We call on our partners to support the idea of a dialogue between the CICA and the OSCE, as well as the transformation of the CICA into an Organisation for Security and Development in Asia. The main topics of the Astana Summit – the issues of dialogue and sustainable security in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian spaces, the problem of Afghanistan, the resolution of the “frozen” conflicts – are relevant to this day”, Mukhtar Tileuberdi said.
Director of the Library of the Leader of the Nation Bakytzhan Temirbolat, who acted as the moderator and speaker of the conference, stressed that in the year marking the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, we can declare with full responsibility that our country continues its path of consistent development of democratic practices in governance and everyday life. During his presidency, Nursultan Nazarbayev consciously and purposefully pursued a policy of modernising the political system.
“In almost two years of active work, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has initiated three major packages of new political reforms aimed at the further development of Kazakhstan’s democracy. A number of initiatives have already been implemented at the legislative level and are being applied in practice. This demonstrates that the democratic path we chose three decades ago is being continued today by a new generation of Kazakhstan’s leadership. Of course, there is still a lot of work ahead, but I am convinced that our work with the OSCE, as before, will have a positive impact not only on the development of Kazakhstan, but also on the OSCE itself, as well as on strengthening security in the Eurasian space”, Bakytzhan Temirbolat said.
The participants of the event were shown a specially prepared short film, in which Nursultan Nazarbayev and leading political leaders, who participated in the historic event in the capital of Kazakhstan in 2010, shared their memories of the preparations for the OSCE summit and the difficult diplomatic negotiations between the member states of the Organisation, which remained outside the frames of the official record of those years.
During the conference, video messages from Ann Linde, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid were also shared. Statements were also made by the former State Secretary and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, OSCE Chair in 2010 Kanat Saudabayev, former OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, renowned Kazakh public and political figure Kuanysh Sultanov, OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Roberto Montella, OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking in 2014 -2018 Madina Jarbusynova, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to international organisations in Vienna Kairat Umarov, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan György Szabó, and others.
In conclusion of the event, all the participants agreed that the OSCE and its structures, while promoting the traditional dialogue on a broad agenda, should focus on deeper and more active participation in countering the new threats and challenges faced by the Organisation’s member states at the present stage of development.
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