Cyprus joins OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation Troika

Cyprus has been accepted as a member of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) Troika (current, past and future chairs) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Cyprus was welcomed as a member during a 27 July Forum meeting, where FSC Chairmanship was handed over from Bulgaria to Canada, the Press and Information Office said in an announcement

During its four-month term, the Canadian Chairmanship will be assisted in its work by fellow Troika members Bulgaria and Cyprus and at the end of this year, Canada will hand the helm over to Cyprus, which will assume chairmanship for the first quarter of 2024.

Cyprus’ Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Maria Michael, said that Cyprus, as a new Troika member, will work closely with the OSCE Secretariat and all participating States, supporting its work.

The OSCE is the largest regional organisation of 57 participating countries based in Vienna, of which the Republic of Cyprus is a founding member. The FSC is one of the two (together with the Permanent Council) autonomous decision-making bodies of the OSCE. It meets on a weekly basis, dealing with a wide range of issues of political and military nature, ranging from traditional security between and within states to the response to transnational threats, such as arms trafficking, including weapons of mass destruction.

Important achievements of the FSC include, inter alia, the development of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, which aims to ensure democratic control of the armed forces, and the Vienna Document, which includes a series of confidence-building measures, while also regulating and overseeing the exchange of military information between the participating countries to promote transparency and trust between them.