IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO CONVEY THE EXPERIENCE OF DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT RATHER THAN TEACH ARAB COUNTRIES, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN VICE-MINISTER SAYS
On 5 May in Sofia, when representing Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Ažubalis, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė stressed that during this historic moment of changes in the Arab world, it was important not to teach, but to share the experience.
The Vice-Minister is taking part in the two-day conference “Sofia Platform: Bridging Europe and the Middle East. Central and Eastern Europe’s Transition and Change in the Middle East”.
According to the Vice-Minister, the OSCE is prepared to help its Mediterranean partner countries implement democratic reforms, organize elections and reform the legal system.
Vice-Minister A.Skaisgirytė Liauškienė said that the Tunisian foreign minister was invited to take part in the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, thus emphasising the aim of an active dialogue between the OSCE countries and its partners.
Upon Tunisia’s request, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office A.Ažubalis visited Tunisia on 15-16 April and met with Tunisian authorities to discuss priority needs for OSCE assistance.
Participants of the conference also mentioned the role of the Community of Democracies, as a new institution that focuses on spreading democracy around the world.
It is expected that the meeting of foreign ministers on 1 July in Vilnius, which will be the culmination of Lithuania’s Presidency of that organization, will become a platform for sharing the experience. Egyptian and Tunisian foreign ministers have been invited to attend the meeting in Vilnius along with other foreign ministers.
The conference in Sofia is attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov, foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Sweden, representatives from member states of the European Union, social movements of Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Tunisia, international non-governmental organizations and civil society.
