In his capacity as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has invited the Foreign Ministers of the participating States to Hamburg for the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council, which is scheduled to take place from 8 to 9 December.

Alongside conflict resolution in the OSCE area – including, in particular, the OSCE’s work in Ukraine, Transdniestria, Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia – this year’s Ministerial Council, which will be held on the premises of the Hamburg Messe, will focus on terrorism and arms control, as well as on efforts to strengthen the OSCE as a whole.

The OSCE Ministerial Council is the OSCE’s principal decision-making body. It meets annually and provides an opportunity for the Foreign Ministers of the 57 participating States to take stock of the Organization’s activities over the past year and to strengthen the dialogue on security issues.