The Main Areas of Cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Brussels, March 4, 2024 – The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the EU in Belgium, Margulan Baimukhan, met with the Chief of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Natalia Alonso Cano, and the Deputy Chief, Sebastien Penzini, to exchange views on strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in the bilateral and Central Asian dimension.

The Kazakh diplomat encouraged foreign colleagues to cooperate more closely in such areas as early warning of natural disasters, full coverage of disaster risks, as well as increasing awareness among citizens.

In turn, Natalia Cano noted that disaster risk reduction in Central Asia affects many sectors, including transport, water resources, agriculture, climate change and energy. For this reason, UNDRR programmes are helping to strengthen disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in Central Asia.

To promote climate resilience in Central Asia, the UN Office is actively supporting the Astana akimat through its participation in the global initiative “Making Cities Resilient by 2030”. In 2023, representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan also participated in discussions on “Disability Inclusion” related to urban resilience.

Separately, Natalia Cano suggested that in the perspective of the future Kazakhstan should consider the possibility of participating in donor missions of the UN Office on the African continent to demonstrate the wide range of the UN Office’s work - from regional co-operation to initiatives at the local level.

The Permanent Representative also spoke about the large-scale political, economic and social reforms being carried out by the Government of Kazakhstan on the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

For reference: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR, formerly known as UNISDR) is the UN focal point for global disaster risk reduction for a sustainable future. UNDRR is headquartered in Geneva. Its regional offices are located in Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, APAC, Europe and Central Asia (in Brussels). Covering 55 countries, the UNDRR Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia helps countries to monitor and track achievements in the implementation of the Sendai Framework Programme. Kazakhstan is a member of this 2015-2030 framework programme for disaster risk reduction.