DUSHANBE, June 26, Asia-Plus -- Issues related to the National Peace Accord were major topics of a June 25 meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with visiting OSCE Secretary General, Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, in Dushanbe

According to the OSCE Secretary General, the peace process became possible in Tajikistan due to political will and tolerance of both sides: the government and the opposition.  

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with President Rahmon, Ambassador de Brichambaut said that during the meeting, they had considered the work that had been carried out over the past decade to strengthen peace and national accord in the country through establishment of democratic institutions and enlistment of services of civil society.  

The Secretary General noted that the OSCE participating States had played an important role during the difficult period of history of sovereign Tajikistan.  “The OSCE is a common house for all 56 participating States, and all these countries have will to help each other,” Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.  

On further plans of the OSCE in Tajikistan, he said that they had worked out a series of new projects that will be considered in Tajikistan.  “I believe the new head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, Mr. Pryakhin, will actively assist with implementation of them,” Ambassador de Brichambaut said.  

He called the establishment of the OSCE National Border Management Academy, which will train specialists for Tajikistan and neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, and the project for regulation and management of water resources among countries in the upper and the lower reaches of border rivers the most considerable projects.     

According to him, they also discussed a number of international and regional problems being of mutual interest.  “President Rahmon, in particular, underlined the importance of fight against extremism, terrorism and drug trafficking,” said the Secretary General, “To successfully address these challenges it is necessary to combine efforts of all the OSCE participating States and I will raise the issue or providing assistance to Central Asia’s countries in addressing these challenges.” 

With 56 States drawn from Europe, Central Asia and America, the OSCE is the world''s largest regional security organization, bringing comprehensive and co-operative security to a region that stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of the participating States into practice through its unique network of field missions.