Minister Grabar-Kitarović held speech at plenary session of 15th OSCE Ministerial Council

Pointing out Croatia’s firm dedication to multilateralism, Minister Grabar-Kitarović concluded that, following this year’s membership in the UN Peacebuilding Commission, the recent election as a non-permanent Security Council member represents the crown of Croatia’s achievements in the building of global peace and security, and is a proof of its credibility and responsibility within the international community. She also expressed Croatia’s strong support and wish for its further contribution to OSCE’s role in Afghanistan, noting Croatia’s participation in the ISAF mission and the development component of assisting Afghanistan.

Apart from its global efforts, Croatia actively participates in and presides over numerous regional organisations and initiatives, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović, notably the successful SEECP presidency, which set up a new architecture of regional co-operation. This bears witness to Croatia’s clear dedication to a policy of co-operation and good-neighbourliness in the region as its foreign policy priority, as well as supporting other countries in realising their Euro-Atlantic ambitions. A contribution to that is also the election of a Croatian diplomat as the Regional Co-operation Councils Secretary General.

Guided by OSCE’s principles and values, Croatia has in the past 11 years closely co-operated with the OSCE Mission in Zagreb on the overall improvement of the post-conflict condition, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović, pointing out the good co-operation in the implementation of the Platform mechanism, which led to the fulfilment of four chapters of the Mission’s mandate by 2006. A strong emphasis is being placed on the two remaining chapters. By the end of this year, the obligation to house the returning refugees will be met, while the rule of the law standards determined by the Mission within the Platform have been already been satisfied, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović.

Based on that, and with a full awareness of the importance of continuing the co-operation with OSCE in the fulfilment of its obligations, Croatia expects the OSCE Permanent Council to reach the decisions in the following weeks that would confirm the joint success, concluded Minister Grabar-Kitarović.