NATO welcomes President Nazarbayev’s article on the occasion of Kazakhstan’s assumption of the OSCE Chairmanship, on 14 January.
We are confident that Kazakhstan will carry out this important mission with a sense of great responsibility in line with the fundamental principles and values of this organisation.
We believe that this chairmanship will further contribute to the growing cooperation in all fields including security, between the Eastern and Western members of the OSCE as well as present an ample opportunity to highlight the challenging issues faced by Central Asia and Afghanistan.
As mentioned in President Nazarbayev’s article, Kazakhstan has strong interest not only in the security of its immediate neighborhood, but also in global security issues, through forums such as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and on issues including nuclear disarmament and Afghanistan.
As the first Central Asian country to hold the OSCE Chairmanship, we are glad to see that Kazakhstan has launched its chairmanship enthusiastically and vigorosly  with a strong focus on Central Asia and Afghanistan. In this context, we are particularly grateful for Kazakhstan’s support in the stabilization of Afghanistan, and look forward to their leadership and contribution to the international efforts.
NATO has close working relations with the OSCE and we look forward to continuing and strengthening this relationship under the Kazakhstan Chairmanship.

Robert Simmons, is NATO’s first ever Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia