Georgian President, PM welcome Helga Schmid’s appointment as OSCE Secretary General
Helga Maria Schmid is a German diplomat who has been serving as the Secretary General of the European External Action Service since 2016.
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili and Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia have congratulated Helga Schmid on becoming secretary general of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
President Salome Zurabishvili has tweeted:
Congratulations to @HelgaSchmid_EU on becoming the next Secretary General of the @OSCE. Security in the Caucasus is crucial for the stability of all of Europe. A lot of work awaits and I wish you success in continuing the Organization’s work toward peace and dialogue.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) December 4, 2020
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has also tweeted:
My sincere congratulations to HelgaSchmid_EU on taking up the post of the Secretary General of the @OSCE. Confident that your leadership will unlock new opportunities for advancing on issues that are of crucial importance for the international community and for ???????? as well.
— Giorgi Gakharia (@GakhariaGiorgi) December 5, 2020
At the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council on December 4, participating states appointed new senior leadership for the organisation, including Helga Schmid who replaced Thomas Greminger as secretary general.
Meanwhile, Kairat Abdrakhmanov became high commissioner on national minorities, Matteo Mecacci became director of the office for democratic institutions and human rights (ODIHR), while Maria Teresa Ribeiro became representative on the freedom of the media.
The United States (US) Mission to OSCE has issued an official statement in which its team says that they would welcome the reestablishment of an OSCE field presence in Georgia ‘capable of operating unhindered across the administrative boundary lines’.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, who is visiting Vienna as the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, met with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger earlier today. Greminger said after the meeting that there is a close partnership between the OSCE and the CoE in a number of defined areas.
The Group of Friends of Georgia in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has released a statement in which they call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions in Georgia.
Georgia’s new ambassador to Austria and Vienna-based international organisations, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, has presented her credentials to OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger today. Tsikhelashvili, who previously served as Georgia’s State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, was appointed as ambassador in May.
Former, current and future chairs of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Slovakia, Albania, Sweden, Poland and Macedonia have reiterated their support to Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity at the recent OSCE ministerial council in Tirana.
OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid will visit Georgia tomorrow. During her visit she will hold meetings with Georgian authorities, including President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava.