At the Bureau meeting, attended by Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ilkka Kanerva, Gojkovic said that the chairmanship of the OSCE is an exceptional honour for our country conferred by the international community as a sign of its appreciation of Serbia as a democratic country which promotes and pursues the organisation’s values and legacies.

Gojkovic said that the chairmanship was an added responsibility and encouragement for Serbia, which is dedicated to peace, maintaining security and strengthening human rights and freedoms.

Gojkovic stressed that dialogue is now more essential than ever with the OSCE region and the neighbourhood locked in frozen conflicts, followed by the migration problem and many other challenges we have to face together.

Reminding the assembly that the parliamentary dimension of the OSCE was established 25 years ago, Gojkovic stated that as keepers of democracy and institutions grounded in dialogue, parliaments have an extremely important role and responsibility in maintaining OSCE values.

She said that parliamentarians are quite aware of the responsibility parliamentary diplomacy carries with it both, at the bilateral and multilateral level.

Gojkovic said that the migrant/refugee crisis, a topic to be discussed by the Bureau, testifies to the current nature of the OSCE PA’s work and its readiness to tackle the most difficult questions, adding that Serbia has been dealing with the rising numbers of migrants crossing its territory very successfully, considering its capacities, at the same time maintaining security and respecting basic human rights.

On the behalf of the Serbian Assembly, the OSCE PA Bureau meeting was also attended by the Head of the parliamentary delegation to the OSCE Pa Dijana Vukomanovic and MP Gordana Comic.