More than 2,000 working together in final preparations for the OSCE Ministerial Council

Deputy Prime Minister Borg thanks entities and contractors contributing to this historic conference

More than 2,000 public servants and service providers are coming together in the organisation of next week’s OSCE Ministerial Council, the largest ministerial conference ever held in Malta.

On Thursday afternoon, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism and Chairperson of the OSCE Ian Borg visited the final preparations for this historic meeting at Ta’ Qali. Next week, on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th December, the Foreign Ministers of the 57 participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will be in Malta for the 31st meeting of the Ministerial Council of this organisation, to discuss important regional security challenges as well as pressing organisational decisions. Russia’s war against Ukraine will be high on the meeting’s agenda, with the two nations among the participating states at the table.

At Ta’ Qali, Minister Borg met with the Ministry’s task force entrusted with the organisation of this conference, in collaboration with the Permanent Representation of Malta to the OSCE in Vienna and other government entities supporting the event. He also talked to the workers engaged in the final works at the conference venue, which will host over 800 delegates and local and international journalists. The 12,000 square-metre complex includes a plenary hall for the foreign ministers’ discussions, halls for press conferences and side events, bilateral meeting rooms, interpretation facilities, a media centre for more than 200 journalists, catering areas, and other facilities.

Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry’s task force has also coordinated other important logistical requirements in conjunction with the Malta Police Force, the Armed Forces of Malta, the Civil Protection Department, Transport Malta, LESA, Infrastructure Malta, the Department of Public Works, Ambjent Malta, the Health Services, the Cleansing and Maintenance Division, MITA, the Department of Information, Public Broadcasting Services, and many others.

Deputy Prime Minister and OSCE Chairperson Ian Borg thanked all the teams involved for their commitment and dedication in the run-up to the conference. “A year ago, during the 30^th Ministerial Council in Skopje, all participating states agreed that Malta was the only country that could lead this organisation in 2024 because we are held in high esteem as a credible agent of peace and dialogue,” he explained, “and next week’s conference will continue to reinforce Malta’s reputation on the world stage.”

“The Ministerial Conference is the culmination of a year of relentless efforts to strengthen the resilience of this organisation and to continue advocating for unity among nations in addressing the OSCE region’s challenges, from wars to the climate crisis, from media freedom and cybersecurity to gender equality and the safeguarding of human rights. No country can tackle these challenges alone, but together, through decisive actions, we can build a better future for over one billion people in the OSCE region,” he concluded.

Malta began its 12-month Chairpersonship of the OSCE in January, under the theme “Strengthening Resilience, Enhancing Security”, after it was unanimously elected to head this organisation for the first time in its history, in November 2023.