EU Statement on the Report by the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the Director of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek
The European Union warmly welcomes the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, Ambassador Dr. Volker Frobarth, and the Director of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Dr. Pal Dunay. We thank them and their predecessors, Ambassador Alexey Rogov and Dr. Kate Walker, for their excellent work and we look forward to continuing our good cooperation.
We appreciate the comprehensive report of the Programme Office and of the Academy. We commend the activity of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, done in close cooperation with and in support of the authorities of Kyrgyzstan in all three OSCE dimensions, with achievements that confirm its important role in assisting the country in the implementation of the OSCE commitments. We also value the continued cooperation with civil society.
The recent visit of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Envoy Terhi Hakala is a proof of the long-standing and mutually beneficial cooperation between the OSCE and Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is an important partner for the EU in Central Asia, as highlighted by the signing of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) with the European Union in June 2024 - an important milestone in strengthening bilateral relations. The EU-Central Asia Summit held in Samarkand in April 2025 has demonstrated our joint political commitment to future cooperation for peace, security and sustainable development. The High-Level Political and Security Dialogue held in July 2025 was a good occasion to exchange views on emerging security threats such as disinformation, cyber and hybrid threats while the recent Ministerial meeting on Cross-Regional security and connectivity held in Luxembourg aimed at coordinating strategic investments in the areas of transport, digital connectivity, energy and regional trade facilitation. We use this opportunity to underline many of the synergies among the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the Global Gateway Strategy and the EU Strategy for Central Asia, and the activities of the OSCE Programme Office in Kyrgyzstan.
The EU commends the role played by the Office in enhancing border security, digitalising the state customs services, responding to cyber threats, countering terrorism and its financing, and preventing violent extremism, with a focus on the reintegration and rehabilitation of returned women and children from refugee camps. The EU also appreciates the Office’s activities in strengthening democratic processes and fighting organised crime and drug abuse, which have generated a positive community-level impact. We welcome the coordination with the EU Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA), which has just completed its 10th phase with a closing conference in Kyrgyzstan in September 2025 and brought tangible changes to border management across Central Asia.
We thank the Programme Office for its role in fostering economic growth and sustainable development, in strengthening economic connectivity and addressing environmental issues in remote areas, improving the national disaster risk reduction system, alongside enhanced digitalisation. We welcome the efforts towards a green economy, including by assisting the host country authorities in organising the Central Asian Regional Green Economy Forum in Bishkek in November 2024.
The EU welcomes also the Programme Office’s activities which have aimed at educating voters and enhancing democratic process, modernising criminal justice, promoting the penitentiary reform and torture prevention, combatting the trafficking of human beings, promoting gender equality and media literacy. We continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in the country and call on the authorities to uphold their international human rights obligations and OSCE commitments. We are concerned about recent draft bills that intend to repeal the existing ban on the use of the death penalty and to revoke the ratification of the ICCPR Second Protocol.
The EU closely follows the activities of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek aimed at fulfilling its core mandate of promoting regional cooperation, conflict prevention, and good governance in Central Asia. We continue to support the implementation of the Academy’s objectives, including through substantial financial contributions of the EU and individual EU Member States. The EU strongly believes that the activity of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, a flagship project of the OSCE, should be based on its strict adherence to the principles of academic integrity, as well as OSCE principles and commitments.
We welcome the fact that advancing gender equality and gender mainstreaming remain high on the agenda of the Programme Office. We also welcome the role of the Programme Office in strengthening youth participation in peace and security, including through cooperation with the other OSCE field operations in Central Asia.
We reiterate our appreciation for the successful work of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the OSCE Academy and wish both Amb. Dr. Frobarth and Dr. Dunay and their teams every success in their future activity.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.