Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has been taking part in a meeting to redress international inaction over the troubled country of Kyrgyzstan.
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The summit brought together representatives from 56 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) countries and comes after ethnic violence rocked the central Asian nation at the end of June.
The conference was held in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan.
“It’s an important signal because it focuses more attention on this part of the world, particularly after the recent events in Kyrgyzstan,” said Calmy-Rey on Saturday.
The minister also welcomed the pre-meeting OSCE agreement, announced on Friday, to send a 52-member police force to southern Kyrgyzstan to monitor its fragile peace.
More than 300 people were killed, and possibly hundreds more, during several days of clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks last month.
Switzerland has a special interest in Kyrgyzstan. The country is part of a Swiss priority development aid region, along with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Bern also represents all three at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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