OSCE Chairman-in-office tours Eastern Europe

Kiev, April 01, 2010 (Khabar) - The OSCE Chairman-in-office, the Secretary of State and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Kanat Saudabayev has paid an official visit to Kiev as part of his tour around Eastern Europe. While in Ukraine, he had a number of talks with the country’s government. During his meeting with the Verhovna Rada speaker, Vladimir Litvinov, the sides shared their opinions about Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE. Saudabayev also met with the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukraine is going to chair the organisation in 2013 and the country is banking on Kazakhstan’s support and experience in this regard. Prior to his trip to Kiev, Kanat Saudabayev also paid a visit to Minsk where he held talks with the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The sides basically covered the topic of the Customs Union’s operation. While in the Belarusian capital, Kanat Saudabayev also had a meeting with the administration of the OSCE office in Minsk.

Benedict Haller, the head of the OSCE Office in Minsk:
- Kazakhstan’s chairmanship is very active. Under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship, a number of meetings took place as part of the organisation and we are waiting for further productive work to be done together.