News

At the fall meetings of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly on 8 October in Palermo (Italy), Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Renatas Norkus delivered a speech about the strengthening of ties between the OSCE and the Mediterranean partners. The session focused on the fight against transnational organized crime and corruption.

The Ambassador emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation outside the OSCE area, also the significance of the OSCE values and commitments to the neighbouring countries of the OSCE participating states.

In the opinion of Ambassador R.Norkus, the cooperation should focus on the development of confidence and security building measures, border security, migration, tolerance and non-discrimination, as well as on the regional response to these challenges.

Lithuania’s Minister of the Interior Raimundas Palaitis delivered a speech at the session on human trafficking of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Palermo was also attended by members of the delegation of the Parliament (Seimas) of Lithuania to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly: Vilija Aleknaitė Abramikienė (head), Egidijus Klumbys and Laimontas Dinius.

Ambassador R.Norkus took part at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly as the Chair of the Mediterranean Partners Contact Group. In compliance with the practices of the OSCE bodies, this group is chaired by the representative of an upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE, who is in this case Lithuania’s representative.

The OSCE develops special relations with the following Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.