AKIPRESS.COM - OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter will visit the five Central Asian republics – Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan - from 19 to 22 November 2014.

Burkhalter will discuss with his counterparts the work and activities of the OSCE presences in the region, their importance in all three dimensions, and will underline the crucial role of all countries in contributing to the security of the OSCE region. He will also exchange views on the current security challenges as well as the upcoming Ministerial Council, which is taking place from 4 to 5 December in Basel, Switzerland.

He will start his visit on November 19 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, then travel to Astana in Kazakhstan on November 20, followed by Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on November 21 and have meetings in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on November 22, before visiting Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and flying off from the region the same day.