On December 6-7, 2011 delegation of Ukraine headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will take part in the 18th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is expected that the Ministerial Council will be attended by 44 Foreign Ministers from 56 OSCE participating States.

The Ministerial Council will review implementation of the tasks, set at the 2010 OSCE Summit in Astana, which are aimed at further strengthening of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security in the military and political, economic-environmental and humanitarian dimensions.

This year's meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council will have particular importance for the Ukrainian side in the view of forthcoming Ukraine’s OSCE Presidency in 2013. Starting from January 1st. 2012, Ukraine will become a member of the so-called OSCE Troika, which will make Ukraine directly involved in the OSCE political leadership decision-making process.

In this regard, Minister Gryshchenko intends to hold several meetings with heads of delegations of OSCE participating States to exchange views on future priorities of the Organization, as well as to discuss prospects of bilateral relations and cooperation.