HAMBURG, Germany, December 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -
Today(Friday) and on yesterday, 50 foreign-ministers and 1,300 representatives of 57 delegations of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) member-states are meeting at the Hamburgexhibition grounds for their Ministerial Council.
The event is being hosted by Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Due to its international character, Hamburg is the ideal location and will be in the international limelight for two days.
Hamburg's First Mayor Olaf Scholz welcomes the event: "The OSCE conference is an honour for our cosmopolitan city. We are currently witnessing that peace is repeatedly threatened and that wars such as the Syrian war have an impact on us all. Especially in unsettled times it is important that leading politicians get together and talk. Hamburg is well suited for this: as a trading hub it has always had an international focus. Just think of the Hanseatic League, which represented peace and security in Europefor centuries."
According to German Foreign-Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Hamburg is predestined for this due to its cosmopolitan, open-minded character and its international links. He also stressed the proverbial Hanseatic spirit that has promoted a culture of participation for centuries.
Topics of the Ministerial Council in Hamburg - which will be attended e.g. by John Kerry (USA) and Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov (Russia) - include the OSCE's commitment in the Ukraine as well as terrorism, arms control and means of strengthening the OSCE.
Next summer, the world will once again gather in Hamburg as the OSCE conference will be followed by the G20 summit on 7 and 8 July 2017. In 2017, the rotating chair will be held by Germany. Following a suggestion by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Hamburg(http://www.hamburg.com).
