On informing media representatives about the UN’s activities in Kazakhstan

On informing media representatives about the UN’s activities in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, February 18, 2020 - The UN Office hosted a press breakfast inviting the heads of UN agencies accredited in Kazakhstan and representatives of more than 30 media outlets.

The Head of the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty Erlan Iskakov, the Chairman of the Board of Media Alliance Armanzhan Baitasov, the Head of the UN Department of Public Information in Kazakhstan Vlastimil Samek, and the Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Kazakhstan Krista Pikkat were guests of honor at the event.

This event was held in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the UN and the date of establishing the UN office in Kazakhstan on February 17, 1993.

Mr. Iskakov noted that Kazakhstan was an active member of many international organizations, including the UN. He also pointed out the country’s successful integration into the international community. After 27 years of productive work, the UN Office already has 16 out of more than 30 existing agencies with a regional mandate in the UN’s system. Currently, Kazakhstan is continuing to implement the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev, to establish the UN Interregional Center in Almaty focusing on Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr. Baitasov noted that in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy agenda, the country is gradually changing its position as a recipient nation to the position of a regional development partner. In this context, one of the strategic priorities is the establishment of a regional UN hub in Almaty. This will allow Kazakhstan to make an additional contribution to ensuring regional development, security and stability.

In his speech, Mr. Samek said that celebration of the 75th anniversary of the UN is dedicated to digitalization and youth involvement. It is widely recognized that Kazakhstan is one of the region’s leading digitalization nations and that it carries out large-scale events involving authorized representatives of the region’s countries and international companies. UN Under-Secretary-General Fabrizio Hochschild attended one of these events held at the end of January 2020. Youth engagement is also a prominent topic on the government’s agenda; last year was declared as the Year of Youth, whilst 2020 is the Year of Volunteer.

Kazakhstan is actively participating in and making a significant contribution to the work of UN agencies. It contributes to the development of interaction between the Organization’s dialogue platforms and regional organizations, and systematically implements the UN’s main program initiatives. 

Ms. Pikkat spoke about the work of UNESCO in Kazakhstan. UNESCO identified education, science and technology, social and human sciences, culture, communication, information and computer science to be the main areas of cooperation. At its regular conference, UNESCO adopted a resolution on including the 1150th anniversary of a scholar and philosopher Abu Nasr Al-Farabi, the 2200th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Shymkent and the 175th anniversary of an outstanding Kazakh poet and philosopher Abay Kunanbaiuly to the list of anniversaries for 2020. These will also be documented in foreign language publications and will use UNESCO channels to promote them internationally. In this regard, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay is planning a visit to Kazakhstan this September.

Overall, the meeting resulted in a dialogue and Q&A session. Kazakhstan Media Alliance proved to be ready for further cooperation and coverage of the events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the UN.

Media Alliance will be moderating events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the UN in Kazakhstan.

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations. On 24 October 1945, the UN began its operations. Today, 41,000 people from 193 member states work for the UN. The organization operates in all regions of the world. Currently, the UN Secretary-General is a Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres, since 1 January 2017.