The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, will travel to Kazakhstan next week to discuss OSCE work and the Lithuanian Chairmanship's priorities for 2011, OSCE press-release says.
Ažubalis will be in Astana with a two-day visit, on 28, February - 1, March. He will meet the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev and other high-level officials, as well as representatives of political parties and civil society in Astana and Almaty.
The issues of discussion include OSCE co-operation in Kazakhstan as well as the follow-up process to the Astana Commemorative Declaration, signed by the OSCE Heads of State and Government at the OSCE Summit in Astana in December 2010.
Visit to Kazakhstan will be followed by a visit to the neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
On 2 March OSCE Chairperson will be in Osh to meet the Governor of Osh province, Sooronbay Jeenbekov and the Mayor of Osh, Melis Myrzakmatov, as well as representatives of civil society and the local community, and to visit the OSCE Field Office in Osh. He will also meet with experts from the OSCE Community Security Initiative, which aims to support the local police in implementing democratic principles in their work.
On 3 March, Ažubalis will be in Bishkek to meet government leaders, including Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev, Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev and other high-level officials, as well as representatives of political parties, civil society and the diplomatic community, to discuss OSCE support to Kyrgyzstan.