Kazakhstan and the UN are ready for close cooperation in the field of the environment

Addis Ababa, December 14, 2023 – H.E. Barlybay Sadykov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia and Kenya (concurrently), Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Nairobi held a meeting with H.E. Inger Andersen, UN Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

During the conversation, the parties discussed the state and prospects of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Nations in the field of the environment.

The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan congratulated I.Andersen on the successful holding of COP-28 in Dubai and the adoption of the global climate document. According to him, Kazakhstan attaches great importance to cooperation with the UN in the field of environmental protection, climate change and ecology. Our country has joined all major international agreements.

- Kazakhstan became the first country in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement and adopt the Carbon Neutrality Strategy for 2060. The new Environmental Code of Kazakhstan is the basis for the comprehensive adaptation of green technologies in our economy, - the Ambassador said.

I.Andersen, from her part, stressed Kazakhstan's active international position in the field of ecology and climate change, the high organization of the Central Asian Pavilion at COP-28. The Under Secretary General of the UN noted with a great pleasure  Kazakhstan's confirmation to implement its commitments within the framework of Carbon Neutrality Strategy until 2060 and the Paris Agreement, as well as our country's accession to the  Global Methane Pledge, the G7 Climate Club, and other multilateral mechanisms as part of participation in COP-28.

The sides discussed Kazakhstan's initiative to hold a Regional Climate Summit of Central Asia under the auspices of the United Nations in 2026, the participation of the Kazakh delegation as Chairperson of the SCO in the annual 6th UN General Assembly on the Environment in Nairobi in February 2024, the possibility of UNEP participation in the Astana International Forum in June 2024, as well as a proposal for reorganization of the UN Office in Almaty into the UN Regional Hub for Sustainable Development for the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan.

The Kazakh diplomat expressed gratitude to the UNEP Regional Office in Almaty for cooperation and contribution to strengthening the country's potential in the field of environmental protection, nature and ecology.

Following the talks, both sides expressed interest in intensifying cooperation on all issues raised on the meeting.