Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Giorgio Silli attended the 32nd Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani. The Undersecretary also participated in the meeting of the informal group of “Friends of the Western Balkans” countries.
At the OSCE Ministerial, Undersecretary Silli reaffirmed Italy’s steadfast support for peace and security in Europe, in line with the principles established 50 years ago in the Helsinki Final Act. In his address to the plenary session, attended by the OSCE’s 57 participating States and 11 Partner States, Silli emphasised the need to fully leverage all available tools of multilateral diplomacy to help resolve the crises that continue to affect the continent, from Ukraine to Armenia and Azerbaijan, through Moldova, and extending even to the Middle East, whose ongoing instability continues to negatively affect security in Europe.
On the margins of the OSCE proceedings, Undersecretary Silli also participated in the meeting of the informal “Friends of the Western Balkans” group, presided over on this occasion by Austria’s Federal Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, Beate Meinl-Reisinger. The meeting was attended by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Energy Community, Artur Lorkowski. The discussions focused on the region’s energy security and on strategies to diversify energy supplies.