Baku discusses Kazakh-Azerbaijani cooperation in official development assistance
Baku, October 12, 2019 — At the invitation of the Azerbaijan Agency for International Development, Olzhas Issabekov, Ambassador at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, participated in the international conference Promoting the Integration of Official Development Agencies of Turkic Speaking States to the International Aid System. The event is dedicated to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Baku and the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS).
In addition to the CCTS member countries, the forum was attended by representatives of the UN Development Program and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Conference participants considered international efforts of the CCTS countries in development assistance and humanitarian assistance, as well as exchanged experience in new and effective approaches to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In his statement, the Kazakh diplomat highlighted the significant contribution of the Turkic Council created at the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev to the development of comprehensive cooperation between the CCTS countries. It was noted that the first conference “Promoting the Integration of Official Development Agencies of Turkic Speaking States to the International Aid System” could be the beginning of a new direction in cooperation between the member countries of the Council.
Ambassador Issabekov drew the attention of the conference participants to the initiatives of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev presented at the First SDG Summit as part of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2019. These initiatives include the following: 1) efficient use of financial resources allocated for the SDGs with a focus on and support provision to middle-income countries; 2) strengthening of the capacity of the Islamic Organization for Food Security through support provision by member countries; 3) establishment of an interregional SDG Center in Kazakhstan with a mandate to assist the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Moreover, the Kazakh diplomat elaborated on the work being done to create a national system of official development assistance (ODA), sharing his experience in developing necessary regulatory framework and building effective relations with foreign and international donor players.
Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP resident representative in Azerbaijan and Rahman Nurdun, vice-president of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency TIKA, noted Kazakhstan’s effective sustainable development efforts both regionally and globally.
During his visit to Baku, Ambassador Issabekov held a bilateral meeting with Seymur Fataliyev, director of the Azerbaijan International Development Agency AIDA, during which they discussed promising areas of cooperation for the implementation of joint projects in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Seymur Fataliyev showed particular interest in Kazakhstan’s ODA legislation taking into account the fact that the Azerbaijani side is considering the feasibility of creating its own legal framework in this area.