Kazakhstan strengthens cooperation with UN to advance sustainable development goals

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yermek Kosherbayev held a meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua, during which the parties discussed cooperation issues between Kazakhstan and the UN in the field of sustainable development, El.kz reports citing Kazakh Foreign Ministry.

The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s unwavering commitment to the principles of the UN Charter and to the consistent strengthening of multilateral diplomacy. He expressed appreciation to the leadership of the Organization, in particular to the Secretary-General António Guterres, for the fruitful partnership in preparing the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana (RES-2026), highlighting the high-level composition of the UN delegation.

In his turn, Li Junhua highly commended Kazakhstan’s support for UN reforms, including the implementation of country-level initiatives aimed at enhancing the Organization’s effectiveness on the ground, taking into account the interests and needs of countries in the region.

Particular attention was paid to priority areas of cooperation, including efforts to launch the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.

Yermek Kosherbayev informed his counterpart about the progress of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to establish an International Water Organization within the UN aimed at promoting water diplomacy and coordinating international efforts in this area.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister invited Li Junhua to participate in the first international consultations on the initiative, which will be held on the sidelines of the summit.

Following the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their intention to continue strengthening the strategic dialogue between Kazakhstan and the United Nations.