Swiss to chair OSCE in 2014
Switzerland is to take over the chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2014.
The foreign ministry said the choice of Switzerland was confirmed by the OSCE, the world’s largest regional security body, in Vienna on Friday.
Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter said the appointment perfectly fitted Switzerland’s policy priority and its commitment in favour of stability in Europe and the neighbouring regions.
He said Switzerland would cooperate closely with Serbia which will chair the organisation in 2015. The two countries had agreed on a joint candidacy in December last year.
Switzerland is one of 56 member states of the OSCE, which has its origins in the early 1970s as a forum for dialogue between the East and the West.
Switzerland also held the chairmanship in 1996.
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