In the usual international musical chairs at the end of the year a number of countries have assumed responsability for different international organisations. Italy assumed the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for 2018.
Bulgaria has assumed the Presidency of the European Union for the first six months of the new year.
Tadjikistan has assumed the chairmanship of the Commonswealth of Independent States. At the UN , Kazakhstan assumes the Chairmanship of the Security Council for January under the monthly rotating system
source: Commonspace.eu
photo: The Farnesina Palace in Rome, seat of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs