Minister Lipavsky opened the Prague Forum on the Economic and Environmental Dimension of the OSCE

Open to 57 OSCE participating countries, the Forum was hosted by the OSCE Chairmanship of Northern Macedonia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 14 and 15 September 2023. It focused on the theme "Promoting security and stability in the OSCE area through sustainable economic development, and resilient and inclusive economic growth".

"For the second year in a row, we are gathering in this hall while a bloody war rages a few hundred kilometres away. We cannot pretend as if nothing is happening. The OSCE's activities must be primarily focused on Ukraine, on the consequences of the war and on the assistance that the OSCE can provide to Ukraine," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. The opening session of the forum was addressed by Markiyan Dmytrasevych, Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Agricultural Policy and Food, who spoke in particular about the enormous damage caused to Ukraine's economy, agriculture and environment, as well as the disruption of global food trade as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the Prague Forum, Minister Lipavsky met with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid. He praised her work at the head of the organisation and the OSCE's activities aimed at helping Ukraine. Czechia has contributed a total of CZK 4 million to the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine since its establishment in 2022. Minister Lipavský also held talks with his counterpart from Northern Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, with whom they confirmed the excellent level of mutual relations and discussed the process of Northern Macedonia's accession to the European Union. Minister Lipavský expressed his full support for Northern Macedonia's efforts to join the EU and praised the steps taken by the government there to remove the last obstacle to the opening of the first cluster of accession negotiations.

This year's Prague Forum was a continuation of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum, whose 30th edition until last year was regularly hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a top event within the 2nd (economic and environmental) dimension of the OSCE. This year, consensus on holding the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum could not be reached due to Russia's obstructive policy within the international organisation.